UC-NRLF 


J4±N  A.  CKKAY, 
NEWSPAPER, 

ok,  and  Job  Printer, 

tereotyper  &  Binder, 
18  JACOB  STREET,! 

NEW-YORK, 
ire-Proot  Buildings 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT    OF 


MRS.  JAMES  L. 

Class 


Z! 


NORTH      REFORMED       DUTCTT      CHURCH,      CORNER      OF      WILLIAM       AND      FULTON       BTKKETS, 
DEDICATED       MAY      25TII,       1769. 


A     DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED       IN       TIIK 


m  mm  (du 


CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Cast  Sabbatl)  in  August,  1856. 


•KINCIl'AL       KNTRANCB      TO      THE       NOKTII       RKFORMED       DVTCIl       C1UT.(U. 


THOMAS    DEWITT,    D,    D, 


UNI:  OF  TIII-:  MINISTERS  C^^^QOLLE^A^  REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH 


Published  by  request  of  the   Consistory. 


A    DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED   IN  THE 


Uirrtlt 


tttoh 


(COLLEGIATE) 


IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW-YOKE, 


ON"     THE     LAST     SABBATH     IN     AUGUST,     1856 


BY  THOMAS   DE  WITT,  D.D., 

ONE  OF  THE  MINISTERS  OF  THE  COLLEGIATE  REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH. 


Published  by  order  of  the  Consistory  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 


N  E  W  -  Y  O  K  K  : 

B  O  A  R  D     O  V     P  U  B  L  I  C  A  T  I  O  N 

OF    THE 

REFORMED    PROTESTANT    DUTCH    CPIURCH, 

337   BROADWAY. 

1857. 


ftXfcf 

N- 


THE  North  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  closed  for  a  number  of 
weeks,  during  last  summer,  for  the  purpose  of  being  repaired,  and 
placed  in  complete  order  and  freshness.  When  it  was  reopened  for 
worship  on  the  last  Sabbath  in  August,  a  request  was  made  that  a 
discourse  should  be  preached,  somewhat  commemorative  of  its  past 
history.  No  thought  was  entertained  at  the  time  of  its  delivery 
that  its  publication  would  be  requested.  But  the  desire  of  the  Con 
sistory  was  felt  to  be  imperative.  The  outlines  of  the  discourse  have 
been  throughout  preserved,  while  some  points  have  been  enlarged, 
particularly  the  brief  sketches  of  the  ministers,  and  slight  additions 
have  been  made.  It  was  deemed  desirable  to  procure  plates  of  the 
church  edifices,  which  have  been  and  are  in  connection  with  the  Col 
legiate  Church.  With  these  will  be  found  a  fac  simile  on  a  reduced 
scale  of  a  print  of  the  old  Middle  Dutch  Church  in  its  original  state 
as  first  built,  executed  in  1731.  This  is  referred  to  in  the  discourse, 
and  will  prove  curious  and  interesting.  There  is  also  a  plate  repre 
senting  the  treaty  with  the  Aborigines,  by  Governor  Minuit,  in  1626,  for 
the  purchase  of  Manhattan  Island,  taken  from  a  painting  designed,  pro 
cured,  and  possessed  by  Dr.  James  Anderson,  of  this  city.  These 
plates  give  a  value  and  interest  to  this  pamphlet,  which  it  could  not 
possess  otherwise.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  are  mere  running  out 
lines  of  the  history  of  this  Church,  which  might  easily  have  been 
expanded.  But  I  deem  it  best  to  repress  the  design  of  inserting  addi 
tional  matter.  A  few  notes  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  The 
procurement  of  the  plates  has  delayed  the  publication. 

T.  I).  W. 

NEW-YOKK,  December,  1850. 


235912 


DISCOURSE. 


PSALM  48  :  0. 
•'  WE  have  thought  of  thy  loving-kindness,  0  God,  in  the  midst  of  thy  temple.'' 

THE  scenes  and  associations  of  our  early  days  will  al 
ways  find  a  place  in  our  memories  and  in  our  hearts. 
No  change  of  time  or  circumstances  can  efface  them 
from  our  minds.  When  removed  from  the  parental 
home,  or  the  domestic  circle,  when  away  from  the  land 
of  our  birth,  on  a  pilgrimage  to  a  distant  land,  who 
will  not  cordially  indulge  in  recalling,  with  deep  emo 
tion,  the  associations  and  incidents  of  the  past  ?  Though 
the  place  of  our  early  home  may  no  longer  be  in  the 
possession  of  our  family  relationship,  yet  the  scenes 
around  it  will  vividly  impress  us,  and  the  events  of  the 
past  will  spontaneously  crowd  into  our  memory. 
Where  are  the  generous  minds  and  feeling  hearts  that 
have  not  often  felt  this  attraction,  or  that  would  be 
willing,  for  a  moment,  to  repress  or  weaken  it  ?  If  the 
reminiscences  bearing  upon  time  and  earth  inspire  deep 
interest,  how  much  more  must  that  interest  be  increased 
when  connected  with  the  exercise  of  Christian  faith  and 
hope,  in  their  rise  and  culture,  and  with  the  teachings 
and  influence  of  divine  grace,  in  the  worship  of  the 
sanctuary  ? 


We  have  entered  anew  this  time-honored  place  of 
worship,  after  it  had  been  closed,  during  a  series  of 
weeks,  for  the  purpose  of  being  thoroughly  repaired,  in 
the  aspect  of  renewed  freshness  and  beauty  which  it 
now  presents.  Since  it  was  first  completed  and  opened 
for  divine  service,  in  1769,  successive  generations  wor 
shipping  in  it  have  passed  from  time  to  eternity.  There 
are  numbers,  now  scattered  in  different  parts,  who  re 
cur  to  their  ancestry,  and  perhaps  themselves,  as  baptiz 
ed,  worshipping,  and  trained  within  these  walls.  There 
are  very  many,  now  living,  who  connect  the  earliest 
recollections  of  their  infancy  and  youth,  and  so  also  of 
their  onward  course,  with  this  edifice.  In  the  change 
which  has  taken  place  by  the  conversion  of  this  part  of 
the  city  into  the  mart  of  commercial  employment,  re 
sulting  from  the  rapid  and  unexampled  growth  of  our 
city  and  country,  the  number  of  those  who  statedly 
worship  here  has  become  small.  The  community 
around  us,  while  not  possessing  recollections  of  their 
personal  relation  to  it,  still  regard  it  with  veneration, 
and  view  it  as  a  valuable  memorial  of  the  length  of 
years  during  which  it  has  preserved  a  prominent  posi 
tion,  and  diffused  the  enlightening,  sanctifying,  and  sav 
ing  influence  of  divine  truth.  In  the  change  of  circum 
stances,  leading  to  the  removal  of  the  fixed  resident 
population  from  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  the  older 
churches,  one  after  another,  have  been  taken  down,  and 
now  but  very  few  remain  in  the  lower  wards.  Still,  a 
large  population,  of  another  description,  and  of  a  more 
fluctuating  character,  is  found,  and  will  remain  in  this 
vicinity,  to  whom  the  "  Gospel  which  is  preached  unto 
the  poor"  should  be  ministered.  For  this  purpose  the 


Consistory  of  this  Clmrcli  have  resolved  to  preserve  this 
edifice,  and  renovate  its  appearance,  in  order  that  the 
means  of  grace  may  be  dispensed  within  its  walls  in 
time  to  come.  They  desire  to  employ  the  best  means 
adapted  to  the  existing  state  of  things,  and,  under  the 
divine  blessing,  continue  here,  in  some  measure,  that 
holy  influence  which  rested  here  so  largely  in  times 
past. 

Assembled  on  this  occasion,  and  contemplating  the 
history  and  uses  of  this  edifice,  we  feel  that  the  words 
of  the  text  are  appropriate,  and  meet  with  the  response 
of  devout  hearts  present. 


"  WE  HAVE  THOUGHT  OF  THY  LOVING-KINDNESS,  O 
IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THY  TEMPLE." 


This  forty-eighth  psalm  is  descriptive  of  the  beauty, 
the  glory,  and  the  strength  of  the  Church,  and  her 
triumph  over  her  foes.  In  the  immediate  connection 
of  the  text,  the  exercises  of  the  pious  soul,  in  medita 
tion  on  divine  truth,  and  in  the  remembrance  of  spirit 
ual  enjoyment,  and  edification  in  the  house  of  God,  are 
expressed.  The  closing  verses  of  the  Psalm  are  beauti 
fully  and  forcibly  descriptive  of  the  order,  safety,  per 
manence  and  blessings  of  the  true  spiritual  Church  of 
Christ.  "  Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her. 
Tell  the  towers  thereof  ;  mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks.  Con 
sider  her  palaces,  that  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generations  to 
come.  For  this  God  is  our  God  forever.  He  will  le 
our  guide  even  unto  death? 


8 

The  declaration,  "  We  have  thought  of  thy  loving- 
kindness,  0  God,  in  the  midst  of  thy  temple?  brings  to 
our  consideration 

I.  THE  PLACE  OF  WORSHIP — "  The  temple  of  God." 

II.  THE  THEME  THERE  UNFOLDED    FOR  OUR   ATTENTION 

AND  MEDITATION — "  The  loving-kindness  of  God." 

III.  TlIE    RETROSPECT    OF    OUR    MEDITATIONS     ON    THIS 

THEME  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  GOD — "  We  have  thought  of  thy 
loving-kindness." 


o 


I.  The  place  of  worship — "  The  temple  of  God?   The 
tabernacle  and  temple,  under  the  Old  Testament  econ 
omy,  were  devoted  to  the  sacrificial  worship  peculiar  to 
it,  and  which  were  shadowy  and  typical  in  their  nature. 
This  worship  pointed  to  the  ONE  sacrifice  to  be  offered 
in  the  fullness  of  time — to  Christ,  the  High  Priest  of 
our  profession,  who  has  now  entered  into  the  heavens 
within  the  veil,  and  to  the  blessings  of  the  covenant, 
which  was  ratified  in  the  atoning  blood  of  the  Redeem 
er.    Under  the  New  Testament  economy,  we  have  "  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  exhibiting  the  fulfillment  and 
realization  of  the  prophecies  and  types  of  the  former 
dispensation,  and  displaying,  in  the  completed  canon  of 
Scripture,  the  way  of  salvation,  clearly  and  impressive 
ly.     The  simplicity  of  worship,  in  the  instituted  and 
well-adapted    means    of   grace    connected    with    the 
special  promise  of  the  Spirit,  constitute  the  glory  and 
efficiency  of  the  New  Testament  Church.      "  We  are 
made  ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  not  in  tlie  letter 
Imt  the  spirit"     The  temple  of  God  is  now  found  wher 
ever  believers  are  gathered  in  church  relation,  where  the 


9 

truth  is  purely  preached,  and  the  means  of  grace  are 
faithfully  ministered,  and  where  the  promised  Spirit  is 
sought  and  bestowed.     The  idea  of  a  temple  implies 
the  residence  of  God's  truth  and  Spirit,  worship,  in  the 
light  of  truth  and  beauty  of  holiness,  and  a  willing 
consecration  to  his  service.     These  pertain  to  every  in 
dividual  Christian,  and  to  the  true  and  universal  Church 
of  Christ,  consisting  of  the  redeemed  and  sanctified  of 
every    age   and  country  and  denomination.      This  is 
strikingly  stated  by  Paul,  in  the  second  chapter  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Ephesians :  "  Now,  therefore,  ye  are  no 
more  strangers  and  aliens,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints  of  the  household  of  God,  and  are  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  apostles  and  propliets,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone.   In  whom  the  whole 
building,  fitly  framed  tog  ether,  groweth  to  an  holy  temple 
in  the  Lord  ;  in  ivhom  also  ye  are  built  up  together,  for  an 
habitation  of  God,  through  the  Spirit"     It  is  not  the 
splendor  of  the   outward   and  material   temple    that 
attracts  the  divine  regard,  or  in  itself  subserves  its  use 
and  design,  irrespective  of  the  character  of  the  worship 
there  rendered,  in  "  spirit  and  in  truth,"  and  the  spirit 
ual  blessing  there  promised  and  bestowed.     The  ser 
vice  may  be  rendered  in  the  humblest  structure ;  yea, 
even  under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven — there  the 
declaration  of  the  Saviour  may  be  verified :  "  Where 
two  or  three  are  met  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them."     There  is  a  necessity  for  the  erection 
of  suitable  edifices  for  the  purpose  of  social  worship, 
where  the  truth  may  be  preached,  the  means  of  grace 
be  ministered,  and  the  communion  of  God's  people  be 
cultivated     The  Sabbath,  the  sanctuary,  and  the  minis- 


10 

try  of  reconciliation  are  joined  together  as  a  three-fold 
cord,  and  are  indissolubly  linked  together.  It  is  proper 
and  right  that  beauty,  simplicity,  solidity,  and  chaste 
adornment,  in  proportion  to  the  means  of  the  worship 
pers,  should  be  consulted.  Never  should  it  be  laid  to 
our  charge  that,  while  we  "  dwell  in  ceiled  houses," 
we  suffer  the  house  of  God  to  lie  waste ;  or  to  fail  in 
forming,  preserving,  or  increasing  its  beauty,  strength, 
or  convenience,  as  circumstances  may  require.  But  let 
it  ever  be  remembered  that  the  true  glory  of  a  house 
of  wrorship,  dedicated  to  God,  is  the  faithful  ministry 
of  the  truth  and  ordinances  of  God,  the  efficacy  of 
these  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the  edification 
of  believers,  and  in  the  advancement  of  the  peace  and 
holiness  of  the  Church.  Without  these,  we  may  write 
upon  the  most  splendid  temple  reared  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  "ICIIABOD" — the  glory  is  departed.  The  word 
of  God,  ministered  in  the  sanctuary,  is  "  the  wisdom 
and  power  of  God  unto  salvation,"  and  herein  is  the 
loving-kindness  of  God  manifested  and  applied. 

II.  The  theme  unfolded  for  our  attention  and  medita 
tion. — "  The  loving-kindness  of  God."  The  kindness  of 
God  visits  all  men  in  his  providential  dealings,  and  his 
u  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works."  But  there  is 
an  emphasis  and  a  peculiar  import  in  the  phrase,  "Lov 
ing-kindness,"  referring  to  that  infinite  love  and  kind 
ness,  which  save  and  bless  lost  sinners.  Thus  Paul,  in 
the  third  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  Titus,  says  :  "  After 
that  the  LOVING-KINDNESS  of  God  our  Saviour  appeared 
towards  men,  not  according  to  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  had  done,  but  according  to  his  own  mercy  he 


11 

saved  us,"  etc.     The  term  "  loving-kindness,"  is  a  com 
pound  one,  signifying  love  in  the  outgoings  of  kindness. 
It  is  not  love  as  an  abstract  principle,  but  a  lively,  vi 
gorous  cause,  producing  the  kindest  effects.     It  is  kind 
ness,  not  as  the  result  of  mere  esteem,  or  arising  out  of 
the  propriety  of  things,  but  it  is  kindness  flowing  from 
the  intensity  of  affection,  the  ardor  and  energy  of  love. 
The  term  was  a  favorite  one  with  the  Psalmist,  who 
employs  it  twenty-two  times.     Jeremiah  uses  it  four 
times,  and  Hosea  once.     The  loving-kindness  of  God  is 
displayed  and  exercised  in  the  unspeakable  gift  of  God 
in  Jesus  Christ  his  Son.     This  is  the  channel  through 
which  infinite  grace  passes  for  the  bestowment  of  every 
blessing.     It  is  displayed  in  his  forgiving  mercy  and 
saving  grace,  and  in  all  his  providential  dealings,  caus 
ing  "  all  things  to  work  together  for  good  to  them  who 
love  him."     We  quote  some  of  the  passages  in  Scrip 
ture,  in  which  this  phrase  is  used,  which  will  show  the 
force  and  beauty  of  its  meaning.     Ps.  26:4:  "  For  thy 
loving-kindness  is  before  mine  eyes,  and  I  have  walked 
in  thy  truth."     Ps.  36  :  7  :  "  How  excellent  is  thy  lov 
ing-kindness,  O   God,  therefore   the   children  of  men 
put  themselves  under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings."     Ps. 
63  :  3  :   "  Because  thy  loving-kindness  is  better  than 
life,  my  lips  shall  praise  thee."     Ps.  42  :  8  :  "  For  the 
Lord  will  command  his  loving-kindness  in  the  day  time, 
and  in  the  night  his  song  shall  be  with  me."    Although 
the   phraseology   is   varied,  yet   the   meaning  of  the 
phrase  before  is  drawn  out  in  Ps.  27  :  4  :  "  One  thing 
have  I  desired  out  of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after, 
that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  there  to  be 
hold  his  beauty,  and  to  inquire  in  his  holy  temple." 


12 

Jeremiah  9:24:  "  Let  him  that  glorieth,  glory  in  this, 
that  he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I  am  the 
Lord  which  exercise  loving-kindness,  judgment,  and 
righteousness  in  the  earth."  Jeremiah  31:4:  "I  have 
loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love,  and  with  loving- 
kindness  have  I  drawn  thee."  These  passages,  among 
others,  show  the  import  and  force  of  the  words,  "  lov 
ing-kindness  of  God." 

THINKING  on  the  loving-kindness  of  God  implies  not 
only  attention  to  the  great  truths  of  religion,  and  to  the 
dispensations  of  Providence  and  grace  so  as  to  yield 
intellectual  approbation,  but  also  the  response  of  the 
heart  in  valuing,  applying,  and  improving  them,  and  in 
the  subjection  of  the  will  to  their  practical  influence. 
So  David  testifies,  Ps.  119  :  59,  60  :  "7  thought  on  my 
ways,  and  turned  my  feet  unto  thy  testimonies.  I  made 
haste,  and  delayed  not  to  keep  thy  commandments?  It 
is  a  living  operative  faith,  working  by  love,  purifying 
the  heart,  and  overcoming  the  world,  that  thinks 
rightly  and  profitably  on  the  "loving-kindness  of  God." 
It  is  this  faith  in  exercise  that  makes  the  word  of  truth 
light  and  life  and  peace  to  the  soul,  and  connects  the 
events  of  life  in  the  providence  of  God  with  the  teach 
ings  of  his  truth  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

III.  The  retrospect  of  our  meditations  on  this  theme 
in  the  house  of  God.  "We  have  thought  of  thy  loving- 
kindness."  It  is  most  reasonable,  and  should  be  profit 
able  to  hold  converse  with  our  past  days  and  years,  and 
to  review  the  use  we  have  made  of  our  sanctuary  privi 
leges.  We  should  inquire  whether  we  have  been 
brought  into  the  fellowship  of  divine  grace,  and,  if  so, 


13 

what  were  the  manner  and  the  means  by  which  we 
have  been  led  in  the  way  everlasting.  As  the  Sabbath 
returns,  devoted  to  meditation  on  divine  truth,  its 
influence  will  be  sensibly  felt.  What  Christian  has 
not  experienced  the  genial  influence  of  such  a  Sab 
bath  as  this,  with  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun  shining 
clearly  around,  and  the  balmy  atmosphere  of  heaven 
inhaled  in  fixing  his  thoughts  on  the  "  loving-kind 
ness"  of  God,  in  the  sanctuary  ?  Our  recollections 
should  extend  not  merely  to  the  privileges  we  have 
personally  enjoyed,  and  the  blessings  we  have  reaped 
in  the  temple  of  God,  but  they  should  properly  and 
readily  reach  back  to  those  who  were  engaged  in  pro 
curing  the  erection  of  this  building,  and  to  the  gener 
ations  which  followed  them.  Sacred  and  sweet  is  the 
memory  of  parents,  who  brought  us  to  the  house  of 
God  in  baptismal  dedication,  who  extended  to  us  their 
counsels  and  prayers,  by  whose  side  we  sat  in  the 
family  pew,  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  whose  renewed 
consecration  to  Christ,  from  time  to  time,  we  witnessed, 
and  who  died  peacefully  in  the  faith  of  Christ  and  the 
hope  of  glory.  Memory  will  also  dwell  upon  the  kin 
dred  and  friends  who  went  up  with  us  to  the  house  of 
God,  and  with  whom  we  took  sweet  counsel  together. 
Christians  who  have  worshipped  here  for  a  series  of 
years  will,  in  the  associations  and  remembrances  that 
this  house  brings  with  it,  retrace  the  incidents  of  their 
past  history,  and  ponder  on  the  discipline  and  culture  of 
their  spiritual  life  which  they  have  here  received. 
They  will  revert  to  the  seasons  of  temporal  affliction 
and  spiritual  sorrow  and  conflict,  when  here  in  the 
assembly  of  his  people.  They  poured  out  their  hearts 


14 

before  the  mercy-seat,  and  found  light  and  peace,  com 
fort  and  strength  supplied  to  them.  They  will  remem 
ber  the  seasons  of  refreshment  and  enjoyment  when, 
"  in  the  multitude  of  his  mercies,"  they  kept  holy  day 
in  this  temple,  when  they  recounted  his  loving-kindness 
in  all  the  dealings  of  his  providence  and  grace,  with 
the  heart  of  gratitude  and  love,  and  with  the  voice  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise.  The  seasons  of  believing  re 
membrance,  hallowed  enjoyment,  and  cordial  conse 
cration  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  will  remain  deeply  and 
tenderly  engraved  on  the  memory.  The  associations  of 
earlier  days  in  Christian  friendship  and  intercourse, 
when  we  went  to  the  house  of  God,  and  took  sweet 
counsel  together,  and,  from  our  common  services  there, 
went  forth  to  bear  each  other's  burden,  and  fulfill  each 
other's  joy,  will  vividly  and  impressively  recur  to  us, 
and  hope  will  spring  forth,  reaching  to  the  everlasting- 
reunion  in  the  "  temple  above,  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens."  With  what  feelings  must  they 
regard  this  house,  and  retrace  their  meditations  on  the 
loving-kindness  of  God  within  it,  who  were  here  born 
of  the  Spirit,  awakened  to  repentance,  and  led  to  the 
faith  and  service  of  Christ.  Of  this  house,  the  annals 
of  its  history  testify,  that  in  the  continued  succession  of 
years,  very  many  —  "  this  man,  and  that  man"  were 
born  there,  and  that  here,  while  beholding  the  beauty 
of  the  Lord,  and  inquiring  in  his  holy  temple,  their 
"  strength  was  renewed,  so  that  they  mounted  up  with 
wings  like  eagles ;  ran,  and  were  not  weary ;  walked, 
and  fainted  not."  In  the  review  of  the  past,  these  me 
ditations  on  the  goodness  of  God  in  this  temple,  by  the 
pious,  will  be  carefully  entertained,  and  prove  impres- 


15 

sive,  instructive,  and  edifying.  But  there  are  those, 
who  were  here  dedicated  to  Christ  in  baptism,  trained 
in  attendance  on  its  ordinances,  and  placed  under  asso 
ciations  and  influences  favorable  to  piety,  who  remain 
without  an  interest  and  part  in  the  great  salvation. 
Let  the  memory  and  thought  of  God's  loving-kindness 
in  this  temple,  in  times  past,  now  sink  deep  in  their 
hearts,  and  urge  and  lead  them  to  an  instant  and  cor 
dial  acceptance  of  the  grace  of  the  Redeemer,  and  the 
future  subjection  of  their  lives  to  his  service. 

These  general  reflections,  in  connection  with  the  ser 
vice  of  this  day,  exhibit  the  high  estimate  which  we 
should  make  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  sanc 
tuary  of  God.  "  The  Lord  loves  the  gates  of  Zion  more 
than  the  dwellings  of  Jacob."  He  loves  the  dwellings 
of  Jacob,  the  families  of  his  people,  and  regards  with 
complacence  the  worship  there  rendered,  the  unity  of 
faith  and  affection  there  cherished,  and  the  parental 
spiritual  influence  there  exerted.  Still  more  does  he 
"  love  the  gates  of  Zion,"  the  Christian  sanctuary, 
whence  the  influence  is  derived  which  forms  and  pre 
serves  the  religion  of  the  family,  and  spreads  it  around 
through  the  community.  The  sanctuary  is  inseparably 
interwoven  with  the  Sabbath  and  the  ministry  of  re 
conciliation.  They  go  hand  in  hand,  shedding  their 
beneficent  and  saving  influence.  Here  united  public 
worship  is  rendered,  and  the  time,  place,  and  instru 
mentality  is  laid  open  to  all  for  religious  instruction,  by 
the  preached  truth,  the  devout  exercises  of  prayer  and 
praise,  and  the  discipline  of  the  spiritual  life.  The  de 
sign  of  God  is,  that  his  truth  should  not  be  confined  to 
one  place  or  age,  but  that  the  light  of  life  should  be 


16 

diffused  throughout  the  earth.  For  this  purpose,  he 
opens  his  sanctuary,  hallows  the  Sabbaths  in  their  suc 
cession,  and  forms  his  Church  as  a  "  city  set  on  a  hill," 
to  enlighten  the  world.  The  Church  of  God  is  the 
great  teacher  of  the  world.  Let  this  mighty  influence 
be  removed,  and  "  darkness  will  soon  cover  the  earth, 
and  gross  darkness  the  people."  This  is  in  close  con 
nection  with  the  purposes  and  end  of  associated  public 
worship.  Hence  the  Church  is  termed  "  the  pillar  and 
ground  of  truth,"  as  it  is  the  great  means  of  maintaining 
the  life  and  profession  of  Christianity.  It  is  in  the  sanctu 
ary  that  the  truth  is  ordinarily  rendered  effectual  unto 
salvation.  It  is  in  the  sanctuary  that  the  presence  of 
God  is  experienced,  in  the  communion  of  his  love,  and 
the  bestowment  of  his  blessing.  "  Wherever  he  records 
his  name,"  he  promises  to  be  with  his  people,  and  bless 
them.  Hence,  every  pious  soul  can  say  with  David : 
"  My  soul  longeth,  yea  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of 
the  Lord.  My  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God." — Ps. 
84  :  2.  "  Blessed  are  they  who  dwell  in  thy  house,  they 
will  be  still  be  praising  thee.  They  go  from  strength 
to  strength,  every  one  of  them  appeareth  before  God. 
I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my  God, 
than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness.  A  day  spent 
in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand." — Ps.  122.  The 
pious  here  feel  that  nearness  of  access  to  him,  that  con 
fidence  in  him  as  their  covenant  God,  that  culture  of 
the  graces  of  the  spirit,  by  which  growth  in  grace  is 
promoted  in  increased  preparation  for  life's  duties  and 
events,  and  in  growing  meetness  for  the  inheritance  of 
saints  in  light.  Here  they  contemplate,  in  the  commu 
nion  of  brotherly  love,  the  thousands  engaged  at  the 


17 

same  time,  in  other  places,  in  the  same  service  with 
themselves,  and  anticipate  the  worship  of  the  heavenly 
temple  and  eternal  Sabbath,  in  the  full  assembly  of  the 
just  made  perfect. 

These  reflections,  suggested  by  the  text,  are  not  in 
appropriate  to  the  occasion  which  has  assembled  us, 
when  this  edifice  is  reopened  for  public  worship,  after 
having  been  closed  a  number  of  weeks  for  the  purpose 
of  being  placed  in  the  fresh  and  beautiful  aspect  it  now 
presents.  It  preserves  its  original  aspect  and  character, 
and  continues  distinguished  for  the  solidity  of  its  struc 
ture  and  the  just  proportions  of  its  architecture.  It  now 
approaches  towards  the  ninetieth  year  of  its  erection, 
having  been  commenced  in  1767,  and  completed  and 
opened  for  service  in  1769.  Among  the  many  splendid 
houses  of  worship  that  have  been  erected  during  late 
years,  none  exceed  this  and  the  adjacent  Episcopal 
church  of  St.  Paul's,  which  was  erected  only  two  or 
three  years  previous  to  this,  having  been  opened  for 
service  in  1766. 

This  edifice  was  built  by  the  Consistory  of  the  Prot 
estant  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  the  city  of  JSTew-York, 
since  familiarly  known  as  the  Collegiate  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  and  still  remains  in  the  same  relation. 
It  is  therefore  proper  to  advert  to  the  history  of  this 
Church,  coeval  with  the  first  colonial  settlement  by  the 
Hollanders,  in  the  first  part  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  to  its  ecclesiastical  origin  and  character.  The  name 
of  the  Church,  "Protestant  Reformed  Dutcli?  is  derived 
from  its  historical  associations  and  reminiscences.  The 
term  Protestant  was  applied,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
to  the  Reformers,  and  those  who  denied  the  authority 
2 


18 

of  the  Pope,  and  rejected  the  unscriptural  doctrines  of 
the  Church  of  Rome.  The  name  arose  in  1529,  when 
six  princes  of  the  German  empire  formally  and  solemn 
ly  protested  against  the  decrees  of  the  Diet  of  Spires, 
and  it  has  since  been  the  distinctive  name,  in  universal 
use,  as  applied  to  the  glorious  Reformation.  During  the 
progress  of  the  Reformation,  a  difference  occurred 
among  the  Protestants  on  some  points,  and  particularly 
on  the  real  presence  of  Christ's  humanity  in  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Those  who  held  to  it,  with  the  great  Reform 
er,  Luther,  were  called  Lutherans,  and  they  who  rejected 
it,  Reformed.  When  the  Reformation  from  Popery  took 
rise,  it  advanced  at  the  same  time  in  Switzerland,  France, 
the  Netherlands,  Scotland  and  England,  through  the 
labors  of  Calvin,  Zuinglius,  Knox,  Cranmer  and  others. 
The  Reformed  Churches  of  France,  Switzerland,  Ger 
many,  Holland,  and  Scotland,  were  in  close  affinity  with 
each  other,  not  only  in  holding  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
as  embraced  in  common  by  all  the  churches  of  the  Re 
formation,  but  in  their  views  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
also  of  Presbyterian  church  government  and  order. 
The  name  of  our  church  derives  REFOKMED  from  the 
portion  of  the  early  Protestant  churches  so  termed,  and 
DUTCH,  from  the  branch  of  the  Reformed  Church  form 
ed  and  organized  in  Holland.  At  an  early  period  of 
the  Reformation  in  Germany,  the  spirit  of  religious  in 
quiry  spread  throughout  the  Netherlands.  A  contest 
of  unexampled  severity,  for  civil  and  religious  liberty, 
against  the  colossal  power  of  the  empire  and  the 
Papacy  ensued.  There  is  no  spot  in  Europe  in  which, 
during  the  sixteenth  century,  so  many  thrilling  inci 
dents  occurred,  as  in  the  struggle  in  the  Netherlands, 


19 

which  ended  in  the  independence  of  the  seven  northern 
provinces  of  Holland,  and  in  the  subjugation  of  the  ten 
southern  provinces  of  Belgium  to  the  imperial  and 
Papal  power.  Within  a  short  time  the  interest  of  the 
public  has  been  attracted  to  the  history  of  the  struggle 
in  the  Netherlands  in  the  16th  century,  by  two  works 
of  great  research  and  classic  finish,  from  the  pen  of 
American  authors.  I  allude  to  the  "Meigii  of  Pliilip 
thQ  Second?  by  Prescott,  and  "  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic?  down  to  1684,  by  Motley.  These  works 
have  spread  information  and  inspired  interest  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  heroes  and  martyrs  in  the  Reformation 
struggle  in  Holland,  before  unknown  and  unfelt.  The 
religious  inquirer  will  be  most  deeply  interested  in  the 
contest  for  evangelical  truth,  and  in  the  evidence  of  the 
deep-rooted  faith  and  piety  which  nerved  the  arms  and 
staid  the  hearts  of  the  confessors  of  the  truth  under 
persecutions  and  oppressions,  severe  and  continued,  al 
most  without  a  parallel.  The  Martyrology  of  the 
Netherlands,  during  this  struggle,  would  furnish  as  rich 
a  page  as  can  be  drawn  from  any  other  field.  The 
confessors,  "  scattered  and  peeled,"  holding  their  lives 
in  their  hands,  amid  the  violent  and  excruciating 
deaths  of  thousands,  for  the  truth's  sake,  bore  a  no 
ble  and  persevering  testimony.  They  termed  their 
churches,  at  the  time  they  were  first  formed,  "  The 
Churches  under  the  Cross?  In  1563  the  ministers  and 
confessors  of  the  truth  held  a  meeting  at  Antwerp, 
and  formed  a  synod  of  the  churches,  and  adopted  a 
system  of  principles  and  rules  which  laid  the  founda 
tion,  and,  in  a  great  measure,  formed  the  full  texture 
of  church  government  and  order  adopted  by  subse- 


20 

quent  synods.  The  Confession,  Catechism,  etc.,  now 
constituting  the  doctrinal  standards,  were  soon  after 
adopted.  After  the  emancipation  and  independence  of 
the  Seven  Northern  Provinces,  or  Holland,  they  rapidly 
advanced  to  signal  prosperity,  commercial,  naval,  liter 
ary  and  financial,  so  as  to  rank  among  the  first  States 
of  Europe.  The  Reformed  Church  of  Holland  soon 
became  distinguished  among  the  churches  of  the  Re 
formation  for  her  well-trained  theologians,  her  devoted 
pastors  and  the  combined  evangelical  purity  of  faith  and 
experimental  and  practical  religion.  Such  she  was  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  No  branch  of  the  Reformed 
Church  was  in  more  intimate  correspondence  and  sym 
pathy  with  the  other  branches  than  that  of  Holland. 
Her  bosom  was  the  refuge  and  the  resting-place  of  the 
persecuted  Huguenots,  Waldenses,  the  Covenanters  of 
Scotland  and  the  exiled  Puritans.  Her  universities 
were  resorted  to  from  various  parts,  and  many  youth 
were  trained  in  them  who  became  shining  lights  in 
other  countries.  The  works  of  her  divines  of  that  day 
still  retain  their  high  reputation,  and  are  sought  after. 
Such,  at  that  time,  was  the  Reformed  Church  of  Hol 
land,  from  which  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in 
America  deduces  its  origin. 

The  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  this  city, 
the  first  founded  in  North  America,  dates  from  the  first 
settlement  on  Manhattan  Island.  After  its  discovery 
by  Hudson,  in  1609,  commercial  adventures  were  made 
by  Holland  merchants,  and  small  trading-posts  were 
formed  at  Manhattan  and  Fort  Orange,  as  early  as 
1613,  connected  with  the  fur  trade.  But  it  was  not 
till  after  the  formation  of  the  "West-India  Company, 


21 

in  1621,  that  measures  were  taken  for  an  agricultural 
settlement  in  New-Netherland,  which  took  place  in 
1623.  Among  the  small  number  of  the  first  settlers 
were  some  Walloons,  who,  during  the  severity  of  the 
religious  persecution  in  the  seventeenth  century,  had 
fled  from  the  French  Belgic  provinces  to  Holland,  and 
had  become  domesticated  there.  The  first-born  white 
child  was  the  daughter  of  George  Janse  D'Hapalje,  one 
of  these  Walloon  settlers  who  located  at  the  Long  Island 
shore  at  what  is  still  termed  the  WallebogJii,  the  name 
being  derived  from  the  first  settlers,  and  meaning  the 
Walloon  cove.  It  was  stipulated  by  the  West-India  Comr 
pany,  whenever  emigrants  went  forth  under  their  aus 
pices,  and  that  of  the  States  General  of  Holland,  to  send 
oufc  a  schoolmaster,  being  a  pious  member  of  the  Church, 
whose  office  it  was  to  instruct  the  children  and  preside 
in  their  religious  meetings,  on  the  Sabbath  and  other 
days,  leading  in  the  devotions  and  reading  a  sermon, 
until  the  regular  ministry  should  be  established  over 
them.  An  individual  was  often  designated  as  a  Zieken- 
trooster,  (comforter  of  the  sick,)  who,  for  his  spiritual 
gifts,  was  adapted  to  edify  and  comfort  the  people. 
These  Ziekentroosters  were  often  commissioned  as  aids 
to  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  As  early  as  1626, 
two  individuals  (whose  names  are  preserved)  came 
out  with  Governor  Minuit,  in  the  above  capacity.  In 
1633  the  first  minister,  Everardus  Bogardus,  came  over 
with  Governor  Wouter  Van  T wilier,  and  associated 
with  him  was  Adam  lioelandsen,  as  schoolmaster,  who 
organized  the  Church  school,  which  has  been  handed 
down,  in  regular  and  constant  succession,  to  the  present 
time,  having  proved  an  instrument  of  much  good  to  the 


22 

Church  and  the  community.  A  history  of  this  school 
was,  a  short  time  since,  carefully  prepared  by  the  present 
worthy  principal,  and  published  in  a  small  duodecimo 
volume.  The  introduction  here,  at  the  early  period  of 
the  settlement  of  our  country,  of  the  Church  and  school 
combined,  can  not  therefore  be  claimed  as  the  peculiar 
distinction  of  the  Puritan  emigrant,  as  the  direct  aim 
and  the  provision  made  in  the  early  settlements  by  the 
Dutch  was  to  extend  and  preserve  in  the  midst  of  them 
the  blessings  of  education  and  religion. 

In  1626,  after  the  arrival  of  Governor  Minuit,  a  reg 
ular  purchase  of  Manhattan  Island  from  the  Aborigines 
was  made.  We  quote  from  Brodhead's  History  of  the 
State  of  New-York  a  reference  to  this  purchase.  "  As 
soon  as  Minuit  was  established  in  his  government,  he 
opened  negotiations  with  the  savages,  and  a  mutually 
satisfactory  treaty  was  promptly  concluded,  by  which 
the  entire  Island  of  Manhattan,  then  estimated  to  con 
tain  about  twenty-two  thousand  acres  of  land,  was 
ceded  by  the  native  proprietors  to  the  Dutch  West-In 
dia  Company  for  the  value  of  sixty  guilders,  or  about 
twenty-four  dollars  of  our  present  currency.  This 
event,  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  our  colonial  annals, 
as  well  deserves  commendation  as  the  famous  treaty, 
immortalized  by  painters,  poets,  and  historians,  which 
William  Penn  concluded  sixty-six  years  afterward, 
under  the  great  elm  tree,  with  the  Indians  at  Shacka- 
niaxon."  There  is  an  accompanying  plate  referring  to  the 
formation  of  the  treaty  conveying  Manhattan  Island. 

At  first,  religious  meetings  were  held  in  temporary 
buildings.  It  is  recorded  that  as  early  as  1626,  "  Fran 
cois  Molemaker  was  employed  in  building  a  horse-mill, 


23 

with  a  spacious  room  above,  to  serve  for  a  congregation ; 
and  a  tower  was  to  be  added,  in  which  the  Spanish 
bells,  captured  at  Porto  Eico  the  year  before,  by  the 
West-India  Company's  fleet,  were  intended  to  be  hung." 
After  the  arrival  of  the  minister,  Bogardus,  in  1633, 
the  loft  was  relinquished,  and  a  plain  wooden  building 
was  erected,  situate  on  the  East  River,  near  what  is  now 
Old  Slip,  and  at  the  same  time  near  this  church  a  dwell 
ing-house  and  stable  were  erected  for  the  use  of  the 
Domine. 

The  early  Dutch  emigrants  continued  to  worship  in 
this  frail  edifice  till  1642,  when  measures  were  taken,  at 
the  instance  of  the  famed  navigator,  David  Peterson 
De  Vries,  for  the  erection  of  a  new  edifice.  He  relates 
in  his  journal  that  dining  one  day  with  Gov.  Kieft,  he 
said  to  him  "  that  it  was  a  shame  that  the  English, 
when  they  visited  Manhattan,  saw  only  a  mean  barn  in 
which  we  worshipped.  The  first  thing  they  built  in 
New-England,  after  their  dwelling-houses,  was  a  fine 
church.  We  should  do  the  same."  This  led  to  a  con 
ference  as  to  the  best  means  to  be  employed  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object.  A  committee  was  ap 
pointed,  and  efforts  used  for  procuring  needed  funds 
from  individuals  and  the  West-India  Company.  After 
discussion  it  was  resolved  that  the  new  edifice  should  be 
erected  within  the  Fort,  (now  the  Battery,)  at  its  south 
east  corner.  Its  dimensions  were  seventy  feet  by  fifty- 
two,  and  built  of  stone.  This  continued  to  be  their 
house  of  worship  until  the  church  in  Garden  street  was 
opened  for  service  in  1693.  It  was  then  relinquished 
to  the  British  Government,  and  occupied  by  the  royal 
military  forces  for  public  worship,  until  1741,  when  it 


24 

was  burned  down  and  not  rebuilt.  On  its  first  con 
struction  there  was  a  stone  placed  in  front  with  the 
inscription,  "An.  Dom.  MDCXLIL,  W.Kieft  Dir.  Gen. 
Heeft  de  Gemeente  dese  tempel  doen  louwen?  "  In  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1642,  W.  Kieft  being  Director  Gen 
eral,  has  this  congregation  caused  this  temple  to  be  built." 
In  1790,  when  they  were  digging  away  the  foundations 
of  the  fort,  on  the  Battery,  to  make  way  for  the  gov 
ernment  house,  built  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  the 
Bowling  Green,  this  stone  was  found  among  the  rub 
bish.  It  was  removed  to  the  belfry  of  the  church 
in  Garden  street,  where  it  remained  till  both  were 
destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  December,  1835. 

This  church  was  built  during  the  ministry  of  Dorn. 
Bogardus ;  and  the  elder  Megapolensis,  Drisius,  the  young 
er  Megapolensis,  Van  Neuwenhuysen,  and  Dom.  Selyns 
ministered  in  it.  Dom.  Selyns  was  settled  in  1682,  and 
died  in  1^01.  I  have  in  my  possession  a  small  manu 
script  volume  of  Dom.  Selyns,  dated  1686,  in  which 
there  is  a  register  of  the  members  of  the  church,  arranged 
according  to  the  streets.  These  streets  are  found  below 
Wall  street,  and  east  of  Broadway,  while  the  remaining 
families  are  placed  "  along  shore?  on  the  East  river, 
above  the  fresh  water  or  collect,  and  also  on  Gov.  Stuy- 
vesant's  bouwerie  or  farm.  The  manuscript  volume 
was  doubtless  prepared  by  Selyns  to  direct  him  in  his 
course  of  family  visitation.  The  baptismal  and  other 
records  of  our  Church  commence  with  1639,  though 
it  is  well  known  a  church  organization  existed  for 
years  previous,  extending  back  at  least  to  1626,  and 
probably  beyond.  The  records  from  1639  to  1*700,  are 
all  in  the  neat  handwriting  of  Dom.  Selyns,  who  appears 


25 

to  have  collected  the  existing  materials,  and  carefully 
arranged  them,  while,  doubtless,  the  record  previous 
to  1639  had  been  lost.  The  church  register,  from  that 
early  period,  has  been  carefully  continued  and  pre 
served  to  the  present  time.  The  colony  of  New-Ne- 
therland  remained  forty  years  after  the  first  agricul 
tural  settlement,  when,  in  1664,  it  was  ceded  to  the 
British  Government,  by  a  treaty  which  secured  to  the 
Dutch  their  ecclesiastical  and  civil  privileges.  The 
colony  had  gradually  grown,  particularly  during  the 
administration  of  Gov.  Stuyvesant.  The  Dutch  popu 
lation  extended  from  New- Amsterdam  to  the  adjacent 
shores  of  Long  Island  and  New-Jersey,  was  found  at 
Esopus,  now  Kingston  and  vicinity,  and  at  Rensselaer- 
wyck,  now  Albany  and  vicinity.  The  population  of  New- 
Amsterdam  at  the  time  of  the  cession,  was  about  fiften 
or  sixteen  hundred,  and  that  of  the  colony  in  its  whole 
extent  ten  thousand.  After  it  became  a  British  pro 
vince  there  was  quite  a  small  amount  of  emigration 
from  Holland,  while  a  number  of  the  colonists  returned 
to  their  fatherland.  But  the  natural  increase  in  the 
families  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants,  joined  to  some  occa 
sional  accessions  from  Holland,  and  the  parts  of  Ger 
many  bordering  on  it,  as  well  as  of  Huguenots,  led  to  the 
spreading  of  Dutch  settlements,  and  the  increase  of 
churches,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth,  and 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  were 
found  particularly  along  the  North  river,  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Hackensack,  Passaic,  and  Raritan  rivers,  and  in 
Monmouth  county,  New-Jersey,  and  along  the  Mohawk 
and  Schoharie  rivers,  in  New- York.  A  list,  in  chronolo 
gical  order,  in  the  Appendix  of  the  Ministers  of  the  Re- 


26 

formed  Dutch  Church,  in  North- America,  down  to  the 
close  of  the  last  century,  made  as  full  and  accurate  as 
materials  in  hand  could  enable,  will  show  the  course  of 
increase. 

Dom.  Selyns  had  ministered  at  Brooklyn,  and  Gov. 
Stuyvesant's  bouwerie,  from  1660  to  1664,  with  great 
acceptance,  when  he  returned  to  Holland,  just  previous 
to  the  cession  of  the  province.  Such  was  the  impres 
sion  he  left,  that  on  the  death  of  their  aged  ministers, 
Megapolensis  and  Drisius,  the  Church  of  New-York 
sent  a  call  on  Selyns  to  Holland,  which  he  declined. 
Subsequently,  after  the  death  of  Dom.  Van  Nieuwen- 
huysen,  the  call  was  renewed,  which  he  then  accepted. 
In  1682  he  became  sole  pastor  of  the  church,  and  con 
tinued  such  until  Rev.  Gualterus  Dubois  became  asso 
ciated  with  him  in  1699,  two  years  before  his  death. 
Dom.  Dubois  continued  in  the  ministry  till  1751,  hav 
ing  been  in  the  pastoral  office  fifty-two  years.  Soon 
after  the  entrance  of  Selyns  on  his  pastoral  labors,  the 
subject  of  building  a  new  church  edifice  attracted 
general  interest,  and  the  first  steps  were  taken  by  the 
Consistory,  in  1687,  when  a  subscription  was  circulated 
generally,  in  which  there  were  liberal  contributions  in 
money,  and,  in  many  cases,  of  building  materials  and 
labor.  The  old  church  in  the  fort  had  become  incon 
veniently  located,  was  beginning  to  decay,  and  the 
popularity  of  Dom.  Selyns  called  for  more  spacious  ac 
commodations.  Tradition  says  that  a  diversity  of  opin 
ion  existed  as  to  the  site  to  be  selected,  a  portion  of  the 
congregation  contending  that  the  spot  afterwards  chosen 
was  too  far  out  of  town.  The  deed  conveying  the  site 
is  dated  in  1690,  and  defines  it  as  being  in  Garden 


TUB     OT.D     SOUTH  CHURCH     JN     GARDEN     STREET.       BUILT     IN     1693 


27 

street,  and  adjacent  to  the  orchard  belonging  to  Eliz 
abeth  Drisius,  the  widow  of  Domine  Drisius.  I  find 
an  account  of  the  expenses  of  the  church,  audited  in 
1695,  which  amounted  to  64,178  guilders,  or  27,671 
dollars  of  our  money.  This,  considering  the  compara 
tive  cheapness  of  the  times,  and  that  the  lot  was  a  gift 
for  a  merely  nominal  consideration,  and  also  that  labor 
and  materials  were,  to  some  amount,  furnished,  was 
sufficient  for  the  erection  of  a  substantial  and  valuable 
edifice.  It  was  opened  for  divine  service  in  1693,  be 
fore  it  was  thoroughly  finished.  I  find  in  a  manuscript 
the  following  reference  to  the  style  of  the  building  of 
the  old  church  in  Garden  street.  It  was  an  oblong 
square,  with  three  sides  of  an  octagon  on  the  east  side. 
In  the  front  it  had  a  brick  steeple,  on  a  large  square 
foundation,  so  as  to  admit  a  room  above  the  entry  for  a 
consistory  room.  The  windows  of  the  church  were 
small  panes  of  glass  set  in  lead.  The  most  of  them  had 
coats  of  arms  of  those  who  had  been  elders  and  magis 
trates,  curiously  burnt  on  glass  by  Gerard  Duyckinck. 
Some  painted  coats  of  arms  were  also  hung  against  the 
walls.  This  house  continued  the  only  house  of  worship 
for  our  Dutch  ancestors,  till  the  building  of  another  at 
the  corner  of  Nassau  and  Liberty  streets.  After  the 
erection  of  the  church  in  Nassau  street,  the  church  in 
Garden  street  took  the  name  of  the  OLD,  and  in  Nassau 
street  that  of  the  NEW  ;  and  when  the  church  at  the 
corner  of  Fulton  and  William  was  erected,  it  took  the 
name  of  the  NORTH,  when  the  Garden-Street  Church  was 
designated  as  the  SOUTH,  and  the  Nassau-Street  as  the 
MIDDLE.  The  terms  old  and  new,  however,  continued 


28 

to  be  applied  to  the  two  latter  for  a  long  time  sub 
sequent. 

With  the  increase  of  the  congregation  the  need  of  ad 
ditional  ministerial  service,  and  of  larger  church  accom 
modations  began  to  be  felt.  In  1714,  the  Rev.  Henricus 
Boel  was  settled  as  the  colleague  of  Dom.  Dubois,  and 
the  subject  of  the  erection  of  a  new  church  edifice  was 
soon  entertained.  In  1726,  the  Consistory,  with  the 
advice  of  the  Great  Consistory,  resolved  to  take  mea 
sures  for  its  accomplishment,  and  appointed  committees 
for  devising  the  best  means  for  meeting  the  expenses, 
and  also  for  selecting  and  procuring  a  suitable  site. 
In  July  of  this  year  the  committee  reported  that  they 
had  agreed  with  Mr.  David  Jamison  for  the  plot  of 
ground  directly  north  of  the  French  Church.  It  will 
be  remembered,  that  the  French  Church  was  on  the  lot 
just  east  of  Nassau,  between  Pine  and  Cedar  streets. 
The  price  paid  for  the  ground  was  575  pounds.  At  this 
time  the  location  was  quite  on  the  verge  of  the  more 
compact  part  of  the  city.  It  was  at  the  same  time 
resolved  that  the  church  should  be  built  in  the  middle 
of  the  lot,  that  the  length  should  be  one  hundred  feet, 
and  the  breadth  seventy  feet  within  the  walls,  and 
that  a  foundation  should  be  laid,  and  a  tower  erected 
at  the  north  end  of  the  edifice.  The  church  was 
opened  and  set  apart  for  divine  worship  in  1729.  At 
its  first  erection  it  had  no  gallery,  and  the  ceiling  was 
one  entire  arch  without  pillars.  The  pulpit  was  in  the 
middle  of  the  east  wall,  and  the  entrance  was  by  two 
doors  in  front,  on  the  west  (Nassau)  side.  In  1764, 
after  the  introduction  of  English  preaching,  material 


RI    VAN 


REDUCED  FAC-SIMILE  OF  PRINT  PUBLISHED  1731 

ingravec 


29 

changes  were  made  in  the  interior  of  the  building. 
The  pulpit  was  removed  to  the  north  end,  and  galleries 
were  erected  on  the  other  three  sides,  and  the  entrances 
were  formed  on  the  north  and  south  sides,  as  it  is 
remembered  by  us,  previous  to  its  being  relinquished 
and  devoted  to  secular  uses.  The  building  still  pre 
sents  the  exterior  aspect  of  its  early  days,  and  calls  up 
in  the  minds  of  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  city,  espe 
cially  those  of  Dutch  descent  or  affinities,  impressive 
remembrances.  There  was  a  plate  of  the  Old  Middle 
Dutch  Church,  as  it  appeared  at  its  first  construction, 
struck  off  in  1731.  It  is  dedicated  to  the  Hon.  RIP 
VAN  DAM,  President  of  his  Majesty* s  Council  for  the 
Province  of  New-  York.  Mr.  Van  Dam  was  often  a 
member  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  also  its  President. 
In  1731  and  1732  he  was,  during  an  interregnum,  Acting- 
Governor,  as  President  of  the  Council.  A  fac-simile  of 
the  original  plate,  (furnished  to  us  by  Rev.  Mr.  Strong 
of  Newtown,)  neatly  and  accurately  executed,  on  a  re 
duced  scale,  will  be  found  among  the  plates  accom 
panying  the  printed  discourse.  It  will  attract  interest. 
There  is  inscribed  on  the  plate:  "This  Church  was 
founded  A.D.  1727,  and  finished  A.D.  1731,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Walter  Dubois,  and  Mr.  Henry  Boel,  ministers? 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  1727.  It  was  opened  for 
worship  in  1729,  but  it  was  not  entirely  finished  in  the 
interior  and  the  fences,  etc.,  till  1731. 

At  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  Church  in  Nassau 
street,  and  a  series  of  years  subsequently,  the  preaching 
was  entirely  in  the  Dutch  language,  while  the  want  of 
preaching  in  the  English  language  was  deplored,  and  its 


30 

introduction  was  strongly  desired  by  very  many.  The  Eng 
lish  inhabitants  had  continually  increased  in  number,  in 
termarriages  between  English  and  Dutch  families  were 
constantly  occurring,  all  public  business  was  transacted 
in  the  English  language,  and  the  young  of  the  congre 
gation  became  more  and  more  unprofited  by  the  service 
in  Dutch.  This  naturally  proved  prejudicial  to  the  in 
terests  of  the  Church,  and  led  to  the  gradual  with 
drawal  of  individuals  and  families  to  other  denomi 
nations,  especially  the  Episcopal,  in  the  communion  of 
which  will  be  found  for  some  generations  past  some  of 
the  early,  time-honored  Dutch  names.  This  influence, 
so  adverse  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Church,  was  deeply 
felt  by  a  large  portion  of  the  members  ;  but  there  was 
a  strength  of  opposition  among  the  older  members, 
which  it  was  deemed  best  to  seek  to  allay,  and,  if  prac 
ticable,  to  overcome,  before  active  measures  should  be 
employed.  Early  in  1761,  the  subject  was  brought  be 
fore  Consistory  by  a  petition  signed  by  a  majority  of 
the  congregation,  (by  the  young  generally,)  urging  the 
necessity  and  importance  of  the  introduction  of  Eng 
lish  preaching.  At  once  a  strong  and  violent  opposi 
tion  arose  from  a  considerable  number  of  the  older 
members  of  the  Church  and  congregation.  The  Con 
sistory  and  Great  Consistory  were  decidedly  in  favor  of 
the  measure,  but  took  a  course  of  measures  to  conciliate 
the  opposition  by  holding  conferences  with  them,  and 
making  the  most  reasonable  and  generous  proposals  to 
them.  A  large  body  of  minutes  on  this  subject  is  found 
on  our  records.  All  proved  unavailing,  and  the  oppo 
sition  refused  every  overture,  and  resisted  the  introduc- 


31 

tlon  of  English  preaching  at  all.  In  1763,  it  was  de 
cided  by  a  large  majority  of  the  Consistory  and  Great 
Consistory,  to  prosecute  a  call  to  be  directed  to  the 
Classis  of  Amsterdam,  and  by  them  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  ARCHIBALD  LAIDLIE,  minister  of  the  Scotch 
Church  at  Flushing,  in  Holland,  in  connection  with  the 
Reformed  Church  there.  This  call  was  accepted,  and 
Dr.  Laidlie  arrived  in  New- York,  and  entered  upon  his 
duties  in  April,  IT 64.  Some  of  the  opponents  to  the 
introduction  of  English  preaching  instituted  a  suit  in 
the  civil  courts,  which  was  decided  against  them.  As 
we  look  at  this  period  in  the  lapse  of  time,  we  are  dis 
posed  to  wonder  at  the  blind  prejudice  which  actuated 
them.  But  when  we  consider  how  deeply  is  the  feeling 
of  attachments  to  old  customs,  associations,  and  even 
language,  lodged  in  the  human  mind,  we  will  be  led 
rather  to  deplore  than  to  wonder.  The  colleagues  at 
the  time  of  the  building  of  the  Old  Middle  Church, 
Domines  Dubois  and  Boel,  had  died,  the  former  in 
1751,  and  the  latter  in  1754.  The  ministers  now  offi 
ciating  in  the  Dutch  language  were  Domines  Eltzema 
and  De  Ronde,  the  one  settled  in  1744,  and  the  latter 
in  1751,  both  trained  in  the  universities  of  Holland. 
Dr.  Laidlie  proved  an  eminent  blessing  to  the  Church 
here.  He  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  thoroughly 
educated  there.  He  took  charge  of  the  Scotch  Church 
in  Flushing,  Holland,  where,  for  some  years,  he  was  a 
member  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts  of  Holland,  and  held 
in  high  estimation.  He  thus  became  acquainted  with 
the  Dutch  language,  and  cherished  sympathy  in  all  the 
interests  of  the  Dutch  Church.  His  mind  was  vigorous 


32 

and  well  stored,  he  was  kind  and  conciliating  in  spirit, 
and  judicious  and  wisely  practical  in  conduct.  Con 
sequently,  his  influence  gradually  and  surely  soothed 
the  spirit,  and  disarmed  the  opposition  which  existed 
at  his  coming,  and  peace  and  harmony  succeeded.  He 
was  a  richly  evangelical  preacher,  powerful  and  per 
suasive  in  manner,  and  a  large  measure  of  spiritual 
blessing  rested  upon  his  labors.  After  the  congrega 
tion  dispersed,  on  the  occupation  by  the  British,  he  re 
tired  to  Red  Hook,  where  he  died  in  1778.  His  course 
of  service  was  of  few  years,  but  it  left  rich  fruits.  The 
New  (or  Middle)  Church  was  designated  to  be  occu 
pied  on  a  part  or  parts  of  the  day,  for  English  service, 
by  Dr.  Laidlie.  The  favorable  impression  made  on  the 
community  by  him  soon  crowded  the  church,  and  the 
Consistory  at  once  took  measures  to  make  the  alter 
ations  before  adverted  to,  and  build  galleries  on  three 
sides.  The  house  soon  became  filled,  and  the  desirable 
ness  of  another  and  third  house  of  worship  was  felt. 
At  this  time,  1766,  the  old  Church  in  Garden  street, 
which,  from  the  length  of  time  since  its  erection,  had 
become  considerably  decayed,  was  thoroughly  repaired, 
and  in  some  degree  remodelled  at  considerable  ex 
pense.  Early  in  1767,  measures  were  taken  by  the 
Consistory,  for  the  building  of  a  third  church,  by  the 
circulation  of  a  subscription,  etc.  In  June  of  that  year 
it  was  resolved,  that  "  the  church  should  be  erected  on 
the  grounds  of  Mr.  Harpending,  that  it  should  be  one 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  seventy  in  breadth,  that  it 
should  front  Horse  and  Cart  Lane,  and  be  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  lot."  The  grounds  of  Harpending 


THE      REFORMED      DUTCH      CHURCH      IX      GARDES      STREET. 
BUILT      IX      1807. 


THE      MIDDLE      DUTCH      CHURCH      IN      NASSAU      STREET. 
AFTER      BEIXO-      ALTERED      IX      1764. 


33 

here  referred  to,  were  the  lots  on  which  the  church 
was  to  be  built,  as  well  as  a  number  of  lots  in  the  im 
mediate  vicinity,  given  to  the  Church  by  Mr.  John 
Harpending,  or,  as  he  himself  wrote  the  name,  Herben- 
dinck,  an  aged,  excellent,  and  influential  member  of  the 
Church,  who  frequently  officiated  as  elder  and  deacon. 
He  was  received  a  member  of  the  Church  in  1664,  just 
previous  to  the  transfer  of  the  colony  from  Holland  to 
England.  He  was  married  here  in  1667,  and  died  in 
1722,  at  a  very  advanced  age,  leaving  no  children.  No 
one  in  his  day  was  more  active  and  useful  in  advancing 
the  interests  of  the  Church,  and  it  is  said  that  such  was 
his  character  in  the  community,  that  he  was  frequently 
named  in  wills  as  an  executor.  He  was  a  liberal  bene 
factor  of  this  Church,  both  in  his  life  and  at  his  death. 
Directly  over  the  pulpit  of  this  Church  is  conspicuously 
hung  a  coat  of  arms  commemorative  of  Mr.  Harpending. 
It  has  depicted  on  it  implements  belonging  to  the  cur 
rying  business,  and  it  is  said  that  his  trade  was  that  of 
a  tanner  and  currier.  The  motto  inscribed  on  it  is, 
"  DANDO  CONSERVAT,"  conveying  the  sentiment,  that  the 
best  means  of  securing  and  giving  permanence  to  our 
property  is  to  devote  it  to  beneficent  uses.  A  doubt 
has  arisen  in  my  mind,  whether  this  was  originally  a 
real  coat  of  arms,  or  whether  it  was  a  design  procured 
by  the  Church  to  commemorate  his  benefaction.  It  is 
a  doubt  which  can  not  now  well  be  solved.  It  was,  at 
first,  placed  in  the  Old  Church  in  Garden  street.  Af 
ter  the  North  Church  was  opened,  it  was  removed  to 
the  spot  where  it  now  hangs.  It  is  already  stated,  that 

there  were  in  the  Old  Church  several  coats  of  arms 
3 


34 

liung  on  the  walls,  and  a  number  graven  in  the  stained 
glass  of  the  windows. 

The  part  of  William  street   on  which  this  North 
Church  stands  was  then  called  "Horse  and  Cart  Lane? 
It  derived  its  name  from  a  tavern  built  and  in  the 
direct  vicinity  of  the  Church,  having  the  sign  of  a  horse 
and  cart  inscribed  on  it.     Probably,  at  its  erection,  car 
men  were  in  the  habit  of  resorting  to  it.     About  the 
time  when  the   North  Church  was   being  built,  the 
population  was  pressing  upwards  slowly  towards  the 
locality,  which  became  sparsely  settled,  with  a  continual 
increase.     The  Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Paul,  on  Broad 
way,  was  built  shortly  before,  and  was  opened  for  pub 
lic  worship  in  1766.     The  site  selected  was,  at  the 
time,  said  to  be  "in  the  fields,"  and  the  ground  on 
which  it  was  placed  was,  the  year  previous,  under  cul 
ture,  and  produced  a  crop  of  grain.     The  population  of 
the  city  was,  at  this  time,  rapidly  advancing.     I  find 
the  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  was,  in 
1756,   10,881,   and    in    mi,   21,863.     Many  of  the 
churches  of  different  denominations  were  built  during 
this  period,  in  what  are  now  the  first  three  wards  of 
the  city,  engrossed  by  the  interests  of  commerce.     It 
may  be  well  here  to  allude  briefly  to  the  process  of  the 
erection  of  churches  prior  to  this  period,  1771. 

After  the  transfer  of  the  colony  to  the  British,  in 
1664,  the  Episcopal  interest  and  worship  were  intro 
duced.  -  The  chaplain  of  the  forces  conducted  public 
worship  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  the  fort,  as 
also  Rector  Yesey  after  his.  arrival.  When  the  Dutch 
church  in  Garden  street  was  opened,  an  invitation  was 


35 

extended  to  Mr.  Vesey  to  hold  worship,  with  his  people, 
on  a  part  of  the  Sabbath.  From  the  first  there  was  a 
very  friendly  understanding  between  the  two  denomina 
tions.  At  the  induction  of  Rector  Vesey  into  his  office, 
in  1697,  Governor  Fletcher  directed  two  of  the  Dutch 
ministers  to  be  present,  Selyns,  of  New- York,  and  Nu- 
cella,  of  Kingston.  Trinity  Church  was  opened 
for  divine  service  in  January,  1697,  on  the  same  spot 
where,  after  two  successive  rebuildings,  the  splendid 
edifice,  recently  erected,  now  stands.  In  1702  a  small 
building  was  erected  on  Broadway,  at  the  corner  of 
Rector  street,  by  the  German  Lutherans,  on  the  spot  after 
wards  occupied  by  Grace  Church.  The  congregation  con 
tinued  small  and  fluctuating,  and  their  house  of  worship 
was  burnt  down  in  the  great  fire  of  1776,  which  also 
consumed  Trinity  Church,  adjacent.  The  French  Hu 
guenots  built  a  church  edifice  in  1704,  measuring  fifty 
feet  by  seventy-seven,  fronting  on  Pine  street,  opposite 
the  present  Custom  House,  the  burial-ground  in  the 
rear  running  back  to  Cedar  street.  This  edifice  is  dis 
tinctly  remembered  by  our  citizens,  as  it  remained  in 
its  original  form  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  to  1834, 
when  the  grounds  were  sold,  and  the  church  taken 
down,  and  the  present  edifice  erected  at  the  corner  of 
Church  and  Leonard  streets.  Many  Huguenots  settled 
at  a  very  early  period  here,  and  among  the  colonists 
from  Holland  there  were  a  number  of  Huguenots  and 
Walloons.  Subsequently,  amid  the  persecutions  which 
preceded  and  followed  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of 
Xantes,  larger  numbers  flowed  in.  At  an  early  period 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  made  provision  for  their 
spiritual  wants.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Drisius  was  called 


36 

to  the  church  at  New-Amsterdam  in  1652,  as  a  col 
league  with  Megapolensis,  on  account  of  his  know 
ledge  of  the  English  and  French  languages,  (having 
been  settled  in  the  Dutch  Church  at  London,)  that  he 
might  minister  to  the  French  and  English,  resident  or 
visiting  here.  Subsequently  our  Consistory,  about  1690, 
and  afterwards,  engaged  the  Rev.  Peter  Daille,  who 
had  ministered  in  the  early  Huguenot  settlements  in 
Massachusetts,  to  preach  to  the  French,  and  occupy 
their  pulpit  during  part  of  the  Sabbath,  when  after  a 
few  years  they  formed  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  organiza 
tion.  The  character  of  the  first  Huguenot  settlers  was 
eminently  worthy,  both  here  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
State  and  the  United  States.  An  interesting  fact  is  re 
lated  concerning  the  first  settlers  at  New-Rochelle,  in 
Westchester  county.  When  they  entered  the  forests, 
and  with  toilful  labor  engaged  in  clearing  and  cultivat 
ing  the  fields,  they  resolved,  in  the  spirit  of  deep  piety 
which  they  brought  with  them,  to  unite  with  their 
brethren  in  New- York  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Sab 
bath,  though  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles.  Such  was 
their  reverence  for  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath, 
that  they  would  take  up  their  march  on  foot  in  the  after 
noon  of  Saturday,  and  reach  New- York  by  midnight, 
singing  the  hymns  of  Clement  Marot  by  the  way.  En 
gaging  in  the  worship  of  the  Sabbath,  they  remained 
till  after  midnight,  and  then  took  up  their  march 
in  return  to  New-R-ochelle,  relieving  the  toil  of  the 
way  by  singing  Marot's  hymns.  The  first  Presby 
terian  interest  in  New- York  was  gathered  in  the  early 
part  of  the  last  century,  and  their  first  house  of  wor 
ship  was  built  in  1719,  in  Wall  street,  near  Broadway, 


37 

the  pioneer  of  the  extended  Presbyterian  Church  that 
now  exists.  The  first  Jewish  synagogue  in  the  city 
was  built  in  Mill  street,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  in 
1729.  The  Episcopal  St.  George's  Chapel,  in  Beek- 
man  street,  was  built  in  1752.  The  Moravian  Church 
in  Fulton  street,  between  Nassau  and  William,  was 
built  in  1752.  The  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Cedar  street,  near  Broadway,  successively  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  Doctors  Mason,  father  and 
son,  was  built  in  1768.  The  German  Reformed 
church  in  Nassau  street,  below  John,  in  1765.  The 
German  Lutheran  Church,  at  the  corner  of  William 
and  Frankfort  streets,  was  erected  in  1767.  St.  Paul's 
Church,  as  before  stated,  was  erected  and  opened  for 
service  in  1766.  The  Brick  Presbyterian  Church,  erect 
ed  on  a  lot  presented  by  the  Corporation  of  the  city, 
in  what  was  then  termed  "  the  fields,"  was  opened  for 
service  in  1767.  A  Baptist  church  was  built  in  Gold 
street,  between  Fulton  and  John,  in  1760.  The  first 
Methodist  church  in  America  was  built  in  John  street 
in  1768.  Besides  these,  there  was  a  small  Friends',  or 
Quaker  meeting-house.  These  were  the  houses  of  wor 
ship  in  the  city  at  the  opening  of  the  North  Dutch 
Church,  in  1769.  Those  who  trace,  after  the  revolu 
tionary  war,  first  the  slower,  and  then  the  more  rapid 
growth  of  New- York,  will  mark  the  additional  churches 
erected  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  reaching  by 
degrees  to  Canal  street,  and  then  still  upwards,  and  will 
find  of  later  years,  one  after  another,  the  church  edi 
fices  below  Canal  street,  passing  away  under  the  force 
of  the  tide  of  removal  upwards,  and  on  the  adjacent 


38 

shores.  At  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  North 
Church  the  population  was  filling  up  more  and 
more  densely  in  the  parts  below,  and  making  its  way 
in  that  vicinity  and  upwards  more  sparsely.  Hence  the 
number  of  churches  which,  in  a  short  number  of  years, 
had  grown  up. 

The  expense  of  the  erection  of  this  North  Church, 
as  audited  after  it  was  opened,  was  about  12,000  pounds, 
or  thirty  thousand  dollars,  which  was  much  increased 
by  some  improvements  shortly  after  made.  On  observ 
ing  the  beautiful  pillars  which  stud  the  galleries,  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  are  initials  of  names  inscribed 
on  each  of  them,  of  those  who  presented  the  pillar, 
with  a  sum  of  money  in  addition.  The  corner-stone 
was  laid  on  the  2d  day  of  July,  1767,  by  Isaac  Roose 
velt,  an  elder  of  the  church,  and  chairman  of  the 
building  committee,  and  the  dedication  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laidlie,  on  the  25th  of  May. 
1769. 

At  the  time  this  North  Church  was  being  built,  with  the 
view  of  its  being  exclusively  devoted  to  English  preach 
ing,  it  was  deemed  important  to  secure  an  additional  pas 
tor  of  suitable  qualifications.  The  views  of  the  people 
were  at  once  directed  to  a  young  man,  who,  while  en 
gaged  in  the  study  of  the  law  at  Poughkeepsie,  became 
the  subject  of  divine  grace,  and  felt  constrained,  by  the 
Saviour's  love,  to  choose  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel  as 
his  work  for  life.  He  resolved,  in  1766,  to  proceed  to 
Holland  to  pursue  a  thorough  course  of  preparation  in 
her  universities,  with  a  view  of  being  well  fitted  to  en 
gage  in  the  service  of  the  Church  here,  and  in  the  hope 


39 

that  lie  might  avail  in  opening  the  way  for  healing  the 
dissensions  and  division  which  had  existed  for  a  number 
of  years  on  the  point,  on  the  one  hand,  of  remaining 
directly  subordinate,  in  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  to  the 
Church  of  Holland,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  of  organiz 
ing  distinct,  independent  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  edu 
cating,  ordaining,  and  supervising   her   own  ministry 
here.     The  name  of  this  young  man  was  Jolin  H.  Liv 
ingston,  afterwards  so  well  known,  in  the   Church  and 
throughout    the    community,   as    the    venerable    Dr. 
Livingston,    and  who  through   a   long    life  was  emi 
nently   useful.      As   early  as    1767,  the   Consistorial 
records  advert  to  their  correspondence  with  him  and 
the  Professors  at  Utrecht.     The  letters  of  the  Profes 
sors  were  highly  commendatory,  and  the  difficulty  which 
he  had  himself  entertained  in  relation  to  a  sufficient 
capacity  of  voice  to  fill  the  churches,  as  it  had  been 
weak,  became  obviated.     A  call  was  at  once  directed 
to  him,  which  was  accepted.     After  spending  four  years 
at  Utrecht,  and  receiving  there  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Divinity,  he  came  to  New- York  in  1770  and  was 
cordially  greeted  by  all  his  colleagues  in  the  ministerial 
work.     Towards  Dr.  Laidlie  he  felt  a  filial  reverence 
and  affection,  which  he  uniformly  expressed  through 
life,  and  he  spake  of  him  as  his  father  in  the  faith  and 
ministry  of  the  Gospel.     The  ministry  was  prosecuted 
in  harmony  and  success,  and  the  Church  flourished.    At 
this  time,  however,  the  political  agitation  existed  which 
soon  ripened  in  the  revolutionary  contest.     Not  long 
after  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  British  gained 
possession   of    the   city,  and  those  who   were    favora- 


40 

ble  to  the  American  cause,  with  their  families,  sought 
refuge  and  sojourned,  during  the  war,  in  different  places 
in  the  country.  With  almost  solitary  exceptions,  the 
congregation  was  strongly  united  in  the  cause  of  inde 
pendence,  and  was  scattered  around.  During  the  occu 
pation  by  the  British  several  of  the  churches,  especially 
where  the  congregations  generally  espoused  the  cause  of 
freedom,  were  sadly  desecrated  and  abused.  Very  con 
spicuous  among  these  were  the  Middle  and  North  Reform 
ed  Dutch  churches.  The  Middle  Church  was  used  as  a 
prison,  and  afterwards  as  a  riding-school  for  the  British 
officers  and  soldiers,  and  became  the  scene  of  habitual 
ribaldry,  profanity,  and  dissipation.  The  whole  of  the 
interior,  galleries  and  all,  was  destroyed,  leaving  the 
bare  walls  and  roof.  The  North  Church  was  used  as  an 
hospital  and  for  storage.  The  lower  part  was  stripped 
of  the  pews,  pulpit,  etc.,  and  the  walls  were  much  de 
faced,  but  otherwise  the  building  preserved  the  general 
character  and  aspect  it  originally  possessed,  and  which 
it  still  retains.  Those  acquainted  with  the  annals  of  our 
revolutionary  history  vividly  recall  to  mind  the  atroci 
ties  and  cruelties  committed  by  the  British  forces  while 
in  possession  of  the  city  of  New-York.  The  churches,  the 
sugar-house,  immediately  behind  the  Middle  Church,  the 
jail,  the  Jersey  prison-ship,  and  the  thousands  of  Amer 
icans  who  fell  victims  to  disease,  hunger,  and  cruelty, 
laid  buried  or  bleaching  on  the  shores  of  Long  Island, 
recur  to  the  mind  as  affecting  memorials  of  this.  Just 
previous  to  the  revolutionary  war,  a  new  and  very  neat 
pulpit  was  placed  in  the  North  Church.  After  it  was 
taken  away  no  traces  of  it  could  be  found.  Some  time 


41 

after  the  close  of  the  war,  one  of  our  citizens  was  in 
England,  and,  worshipping  on  a  Sabbath  day  in  a 
country  church,  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  pul 
pit  as  strongly  reminding  him  of  this  pulpit  in  our 
North  Dutch  Church.  A  gentleman,  to  whom  he 
stated  this  after  service,  replied  that  it  probably  was 
the  same,  as  it  had  been  brought  over  from  America 
during  the  revolutionary  war,  in  a  British  ship. 

The  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  in  IT 8 3,  and  the 
British  forces  left  the  city  on  the  25th  of  November, 
which  has  since  been  annually  celebrated  here  under 
the  appellation  of  "Evacuation  Day."  The  citizens 
gladly  returned  from  their  seven  years'  exile  to  their 
u  altars  and  their  homes."  "While  they  rejoiced  in  this 
long-desired  reunion,  they  contemplated,  with  sadness, 
the  desolations  which  had  taken  place,  but  at  once 
arose  unitedly,  with  prayer  and  in  faith,  to  build  again 
the  waste  places.  On  the  2d  of  December  the  Con 
sistory  met,  and  by  resolution  expressed  their  gratitude 
to  God  for  his  blessing,  which  had  granted  success  in 
the  struggle  for  independence,  and  returned  them  in 
peace  to  the  place  of  their  fathers'  sepulchres,  to 
their  homes,  and  to  the  house  of  God.  The  aged 
ministers,  who  preached  in  the  Dutch  language,  Ritze- 
ma  and  De  JRonde,  preferred  remaining  in  the  places 
where  they  had  sojourned.  They  were  declared  "  eme 
riti?  and  a  handsome  annuity  for  life  was  conferred 
upon  them  by  the  Consistory.  Dr.  Laidlie  had  died  at 
Eed  Hook,  in  ITT 8.  Dr.  Livingston  was  the  only  min 
ister  on  the  return.  The  old  church  in  Garden  street 
was  at  once  opened  for  worship,  as  it  had  not  been  oc- 


42 

cupied  and  damaged  like  the  other  churches.  On  the 
15th  of  January  following,  the  Consistory  resolved  to 
proceed  at  once  to  repair  the  North  Church,  and  place 
it  in  a  neat  and  proper  condition.  In  December,  1784, 
it  was  again  opened  for  divine  service.  On  account  of 
the  impoverishing  influence  of  the  war,  and  the  expenses 
that  were  otherwise  necessarily  incurred,  the  Middle 
Church  was  suffered  to  remain  in  its  condition,  laid 
waste  for  the  present.  In  1788,  the  Consistory  adopt 
ed  measures  to  repair  and  place  in  complete  order  the 
Middle  Church.  This  was  accomplished  at  a  consider 
ably  large  expense.  The  church,  thus  renewed,  was 
opened  for  divine  service  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1790, 
when  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Livings 
ton.  Dr.  Livingston,  left  alone  in  the  ministerial  work, 
was  most  diligent  in  various  labors  in  the  pulpit  and  in 
his  pastoral  intercourse.  These  labors  were  highly  ac 
ceptable  to  the  people,  and  richly  blessed  by  the  Head 
of  the  Church.  We  have  heard  aged  servants  of  Christ, 
who  are  now  entered  into  their  rest,  with  great  interest 
and  deep  feeling  refer  to  this.  Dr.  L.,  at  that  time,  in 
order  to  gratify  and  benefit  the  aged  people  attached  to 
the  Dutch  language,  occasionally  preached  in  that  lan 
guage.  Anxious  to  obtain  additional  ministerial  aid,  the 
Church  succeeded  to  obtain  the  services  of  Dr.  WIL 
LIAM  LINN,  then  settled  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.  He  became  distinguished  as  a 
classic  and  finished  writer,  and  a  powerful  pulpit  orator, 
and  sustained  an  eminent  position  in  the  Church  and 
in  the  community.  By  reason  of  the  failure  of  his 
health,  he  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the  ministry 
to  reside  at  Albany,  in  1805,  where  he  died  in  1808. 


43 

In  1^89  a  call  was  made  upon  the  Rev.  GEKAKDUS  A. 
KUYPEES,  (afterwards  Dr.  Kuypers,)  then  a  young  man 
settled  at  Paramus,  K  J.  He  was  an  accurate  Dutch 
scholar,  and  preached  in  that  language  purely  and  readily. 
It  was  stipulated  that  he  should  preach  in  Dutch,  to 
those  attached  to  that  language,  as  often  as  would  prove 
desirable  and  useful,  and  that  the  sermons  in  Dutch 
should  be  delivered  in  the  old  church  in  Garden  street. 
The  number  of  attendants  on  the  preaching  in  Dutch 
became  fewer,  and  the  amount  of  service  became  great 
ly  lessened  from  time  to  time,  and  the  last  sermon  in 
Dutch  was  preached  to  a  very  few  hearers  in  1803.  Dr. 
Kuypers,  who  had  before  preached  a  large  portion  of 
his  time  in  the  English  language,  now  officiated  in  it 
exclusively.  He  continued  in  the  active  discharge  of 
his  ministry,  until  his  death,  1833,  and  is  remembered 
among  us  for  his  courteous  and  affable  manners,  his 
kind  and  pacific  spirit,  his  evangelical  preaching,  and 
his  consistency  of  character.  In  1795  the  Rev.  JOHN 
N".  ABEEL  (afterwards  Dr.  Abeel)  was  called  as  a  col 
league  minister.  He  was  born  and  brought  up  in  the 
Dutch  Church,  but  was,  at  the  time,  settled  as  pastor 
of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia.  The  choice 
was  an  eminently  happy  one.  There  was  in  him  a  more 
than  ordinary  combination  of  a  well-balanced  and  dis 
ciplined  mind,  with  the  harmony  of  the  spiritual  graces. 
His  sermons  were  carefully  and  accurately  prepared, 
clearly  and  plainly  discussed  in  chasteness  of  style,  and 
infused  with  a  pervading  unction  and  practical  adapta 
tion.  In  the  progress  of  his  ministry  his  labors  became 
more  and  more  acceptable  and  blessed.  Such  was  the 
impression  he  left  by  the  suavity  of  his  disposition,  and 


44 

the  pleasantness  of  his  intercourse,  in  connection  with 
the  effect  of  his  preaching,  that  he  was  sometimes  re 
ferred  to  as  the  "  beloved  disciple,  John?  After  strug 
gling  with  declining  health  for  a  year  or  two,  he  died 
in  1812,  in  early  manhood,  and  in  the  very  midst  of 
extended  and  growing  usefulness. 

The  old  church  in  Garden  street  was  taken  down  in 
1807,  and  a  new  edifice  erected  on  the  same  spot,  which 
continued  until  it  was  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1835. 
It  remained  a  part  of  the  Collegiate  Church  until,  in 
1813,  in  compliance  with  a  petition  of  the  congregation, 
it  was  separated  from  the  collegiate  connection,  and  a 
distinct  congregation  was  formed  under  the  charge  of 
a  Consistory  of  their  own,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Mathews 
\vas  chosen  their  pastor.  After  the  destruction  of  the 
house  of  worship,  in  the  great  fire,  two  bands  were 
formed.  One,  preserving  the  original  corporate  charac 
ter,  located  in  Murray  street,  and  soon  chose  as  their 
pastor  Rev.  J.  M.  M'Auley,  still  remaining  among  them. 
In  a  few  years  the  tide  which,  under  the  growth  of 
commercial  business  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  city,  was 
rapidly  removing  the  leading  members  of  the  congre 
gation  to  the  upper  parts,  rendered  it  desirable  to  ex 
change  their  site  and  remove.  Accordingly,  a  few 
years  since,  the  present  beautiful  edifice,  on  the  corner 
of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twenty-first  street,  was  erected. 
The  second  band  purchased  lots  fronting  Washington 
Square,  adjoining  the  University,  and  erected  the  pre 
sent  house,  a  noble  structure,  most  eligibly  situated.  A 
new  church  organization  was  formed,  with  Drs.  Mathews 
and  Hutton  as  pastors.  After  a  few  years  Dr.  Mathews 
retired,  and  Dr.  Hutton  has  since  been  the  sole  pastor. 


45 

After  the  retirement  in  1805,  of  Dr.  Linn,  the  need 
of  additional  ministerial  aid  was  felt,  as  the  three  church 
es,  the  South,  the  Middle,  and  the  North,  were  then  the 
collegiate  charge.  In  1809  the  Rev.  JOHN  SCHUEEMAN 
and  the  Rev.  JACOB  BEODHEAD  (both  afterwards  D.D.) 
were  called  at  the  same  time.  They  were  both  born 
and  trained  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  At  the 
time,  the  former  was  settled  at  Millstone,  N.  J.,  and  the 
latter  at  Rhinebeck  Flats.  With  the  experience  of  sev 
eral  years  in  the  ministry,  they  were  both  in  the  fresh 
ness  of  early  manhood,  and  had  obtained  a  good  report. 
They  were  both  highly  acceptable,  and  excited  the 
hopes  that  they  would  long  continue  a  blessing  in  the 
collegiate  connection;  but  Providence  soon  directed 
them  to  other  spheres.  Dr.  Schureman,  in  1811,  ac 
cepted  a  professorship  in  Queen's  College,  at  New- 
Brunswick.  He  continued  for  a  time  in  charge  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  there,  and  then  in  one  of 
the  professorships  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  where  he 
died  in  1818,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  having 
discharged  every  trust  with  ability,  and  lamented  by 
all.  Dr.  Brodhead  in  1813  went  to  Philadelphia  to 
take  charge  of  a  new  and  infant  enterprise  in  rearing 
the  first  church  of  our  denomination  in  that  city.  He 
soon,  under  the  divine  blessing,  succeeded  in  gathering 
a  large  church  and  congregation,  among  whom  he  con 
tinued  to  labor  until  1826.  In  that  year  he  returned 
to  New- York,  and  took  charge  of  the  church  in  Broome 
street,  successfully  fulfilling  his  ministry  there  until 
1837.  The  health  of  his  family  led  him  then  to  take 
his  residence  in  the  country,  where  he  officiated  as  pas- 


46 

tor  in  a  neighboring  church,  and  afterwards  as  pastor  of 
the  Central  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  Brooklyn.  In  his 
advanced  age,  Dr.  Brodhead  spent  three  or  four  of  his 
last  years  without  a  pastoral  charge,  but  still  was  active 
in  aiding  his  ministerial  brethren,  and  supplying  and 
promoting  the  interest  of  new  or  vacant  churches.  In 
every  sphere  that  he  occupied,  the  strongest  attach 
ment  to  him  was  cherished  by  the  people,  and  his  min 
istry  was  greatly  blessed.  He  died  in  June,  1855,  in 
his  seventy-fourth  year,  greatly  beloved  and  honored, 
of  which  the  most  striking  evidences  were  furnished. 

The  Eev.  Dr.  LIVINGSTON  resigned  his  pastoral  charge 
in  the  Collegiate  Church  in  1810,  and  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  removed  to  New-Brunswick,  in  obedience  to  the 
call  of  the  General  Synod,  to  take  charge  of  the  Theo 
logical  Professorate  then  endowed  and  fully  established, 
while  at  the  same  time  Queen's  College  was  revived, 
and  he  was  chosen  its  first  President.  In  process  of  time 
other  professorships  in  the  Theological  Seminary  were 
endowed,  and  those  occupying  them  were  associated  with 
him  in  his  latter  years.  He  continued  actively  to  discharge 
his  duties,  revered  and  beloved  in  the  churches,  and  by 
the  students  under  his  charge,  till  the  very  close  of  his 
life.  He  died  in  January,  1825.  On  the  day  preced 
ing  his  death  he  had  lectured  to  his  classes  (as  was  then 
remarked)  with  more  than  usual  vivacity  of  spirit,  and 
iinpressiveness  of  manner,  and  in  the  evening  was  in 
conversation  with  his  colleague  and  one  or  two  other 
ministerial  brethren,  and  breathing  largely  of  that  spir 
itual  unction  which  greatly  characterized  him.  He 
retired,  with  his  benedictions  on  his  family.  In  the 


47 

morning,  at  the  accustomed  hour  of  family  devotion, 
as  his  chamber  was  entered,  he  was  calmly  resting  in 
the  arms  of  death.  Every  thing  was  unruffled  around 
him,  and  indicated  that  he  had,  without  a  single  strug 
gle,  breathed  out  his  redeemed  spirit,  and  at  once 
gently  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus.  He  died  in  his  seventy- 
ninth  year,  ripe  in  years,  in  disciplined,  fervent  piety, 
and  the  fruits  of  usefulness  he  left  within  the  Church. 
The  volume  of  his  life  published  is  valuable,  not  merely 
.•is  the  biography  of  a  distinguished  servant  of  Christ, 
both  as  a  Christian  and  minister,  but  as  connected  with 
the  history  of  our  Church  at  an  interesting  period,  in 
its  forming  tide  of  advancement  and  prosperity. 

In  1813  the  Rev.  PHILIP  MILLEDOLEE,  D.D.,  was 
called  as  one  of  the  collegiate  ministers.  He  was  born 
and  brought  up  in  the  German  Reformed  Church,  and 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty  became  pastor  of  that 
church  in  this  city.  In  1800  he  removed  to  the  pas 
toral  charge  of  the  Pine-Street  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  whence  he  was  called,  in  1805,  to  the  re 
cently-formed  Presbyterian  Church  in  Rutgers  street,  in 
this  city.  From  the  early  period  of  his  ministry,  the 
evangelical  character  of  his  preaching,  the  more  than 
ordinary  unction  which  pervaded  it,  and  his  personal 
character  and  devoted  labors,  gave  him  great  weight, 
and  attracted  much  attention  in  the  Christian  communi 
ty.  His  onward  course  was  one  of  great  usefulness, 
and  verified  the  anticipations  which  had  been  formed. 
Few  ministries  have  been  more  successful  than  in  the 
portion  he  bestowed  on  the  church  in  Rutgers  street. 
From  1813  to  1825  he  faithfully,  acceptably,  and  use- 


48 

fully  discharged  the  ministerial  and  pastoral  service  in 
this  church,  with  the  strong  and  united  attachment  of 
the  church  and  congregation,  and  revered  and  beloved 
by  Christians  of  all  denominations.  In  1825,  on  the 
death  of  Dr.  Livingston,  he  was  chosen  his  successor. 
Although  strongly  attached  to  the  work  of  the  pulpit, 
and  the  pastoral  office,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  accept.  He 
sustained  at  the  same  time  the  offices  of  President  of 
Rutgers  College  (the  literary  institution)  and  of  Pro 
fessor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  the  Theological  Semi 
nary.  The  combined  duties  were  many  and  heavy, 
and  he  assiduously  discharged  them  with  untiring  de- 
votedness.  A  few  years  before  his  death,  in  his  ad 
vanced  years,  he  resigned  his  offices,  and  retired  to  his 
family  circle  in  this  city,  laboring  cheerfully,  as  oppor 
tunity  offered,  and  strength  allowed,  in  various  ways, 
for  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  the  cause  of  Christ, 
until  disease  laid  him  up  in  his  chamber.  He  died  on 
his  birthday,  in  September,  1852,  aged  seventy-seven 
years.  It  was  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  Dr.  M. 
and  his  excellent  wife  died  within  a  day  of  each  other, 
and  were  buried  at  the  same  time.  The  scene  of  the 
funeral  solemnities  and  exercises  in  this,  the  North 
Dutch  Church,  in  all  the  attending  circumstances,  and 
in  the  presence  of  a  very  thronged  congregation  of  the 
highest  respectability,  from  various  sources,  deeply  at 
tentive  and  much  affected,  will  not  be  readily  forgot 
ten  by  those  who  witnessed  it. 

In  the  growth  of  our  city  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century,  and  the  advance  of  this  century,  the  pop 
ulation,  increasing  and  becoming  compact  within  a  lira- 


49 

ited  and  convenient  distance,  filled  the  churches  already 
built,  of  different  denominations,  and  additional  edifices 
were,  time  after  time,  erected.  The  three  spacious  edi 
fices  belonging  to  our  Church  were  filled.  The  congre 
gations  were  large,  and  required  much  ministerial  and 
pastoral  labor.  In  1813  there  was  a  distinct  church 
and  congregation  formed  in  Garden  street,  and  the  Mid 
dle  and  North  Churches  remained  under  the  charge  of 
the  original  corporate  Church,  now  familiarly  termed 
the  Collegiate.  During  this  year  Dr.  Milledoler  was 
called,  and  Dr.  Brodhead  removed  to  Philadelphia. 
Drs.  Milledoler  and  Kuypers  were  left  to  sustain  the 
whole  charge.  The  need  of  additional  ministerial  aid 
was  strongly  felt,  but  it  was  not  procured  till  the  spring 
of  1816,  when  the  Kev.  JOHN  KNOX  and  PASCHAL  N. 
STRONG  were  called,  and  were  installed  in  July  of  that 
year.  They  both  proceeded  from  the  Associate  Re 
formed  Theological  Seminary  in  this  city,  under  the  care 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Mason.  They  both  entered  on  this  im 
portant  field  soon  after  their  licensure.  Mr.  Strong, 
with  a  gifted  and  well-trained  mind,  proved  an  instruct 
ive  and  acceptable  preacher,  and  commended  himself, 
by  his  pleasant  pastoral  intercourse  and  his  devotion,  to 
the  interests  of  the  denomination  to  which  his  Church 
was  attached.  Fond  hopes  were  entertained  that  he 
would  long  remain  an  active  and  useful  laborer  at  his 
post;  but  pulmonary  disease  fastened  upon  him,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1824  he  was  induced  to  seek  the  benefit  of 
his  health  by  resorting  to  the  island  of  Santa  Cruz. 
There  he  died  in  1825,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two.  His 

remains  are  interred  there,  and  a  monument  has  been 
4 


50 

erected  on  the  spot,  by  the  Consistory.  Dr.  KNOX  re 
mains  the  senior  pastor  of  this  church,  after  a  little 
more  than  forty  years'  faithful  and  unremitted  service. 
There  are  only  two  engaged  now  in  the  pastoral  office 
in  this  city,  who  have  reached  such  a  length  of  years  in 
it,  besides  Dr.  Knox,  namely,  Dr.  Spring  of  the  Pres 
byterian  Church,  and  Dr.  Berrian  of  the  Episcopal. 
In  the  case  of  all  three,  it  was  their  first  settlement  in 
the  ministry.  Delicacy  need  not  restrain  me  here  from 
saying  that  the  position  which  Dr.  Knox  has  occupied, 
and  now  occupies,  has  been  and  is  one  of  great  value  and 
usefulness.  The  consistent  and  continued  development 
of  his  character,  and  of  his  course  of  usefulness,  have 
won  and  secured  to  him  the  affection  and  confidence  not 
only  of  the  people  of  his  charge,  but  of  the  whole  com 
munity. 

After  the  removal  of  Dr.  Milledoler  to  New-Bruns 
wick,  in  1825,  a  call  was  made,  in  the  spring  of  1826, 
upon  the  Kev.  WILLIAM  C.  BKOWNLEE,  D.D.  Dr.  Brown- 
lee  was  born,  educated,  and  licensed  for  the  ministry,  in 
Scotland.  Immediately  after  his  licensure  he  came  to 
the  United  States  and  occupied  successively  several  po 
sitions  of  usefulness,  and  he  soon  became  known  to  the 
Christian  community.  At  the  time  he  was  chosen  to 
the  Collegiate  Church  he  was  Professor  of  Languages 
in  Rutgers  College.  He  gained  a  distinguished  reputa 
tion  for  the  industry  and  ability  with  which  he  prose 
cuted  his  pulpit  services,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
prepared  and  issued  from  the  press  a  number  of  treatises 
and  works.  As  he  was  blessed  with  an  athletic  consti 
tution,  the  prospect  was  that  he  would  long  remain  in 


51 

strength  of  body  and  mind,  to  be  in  "labors  more 
abundant ;"  but  an  affecting  proof  was  given  that  "  in 
the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death."  About  thirteen  years 
since,  while  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  vigorous  health 
and  elasticity  of  spirits,  he  was  in  a  moment  prostrated 
by  an  apoplectic  attack,  which  appeared  for  a  time  to 
be  nigh  unto  death,  and  left  him  paralyzed  on  one  side. 
Through  the  mercy  of  Providence  he,  however,  gradu 
ally  recovered  from  the  severity  of  the  stroke,  and  at 
tained  a  good  degree  of  comfort  of  body  and  of  mind, 
continuing  to  the  present  moment,  still  without  the 
prospect  of  ever  being  able  to  resume  active  duty. 
While  the  recollections  and  affections  of  the  people  of 
his  charge,  and  his  colleagues,  cluster  around  him,  there 
is  a  silent,  strong,  and  tender  monition  addressed  to  his 
colleagues,  WORK  WHILE  IT  is  DAY. 

In  addition  to  Drs.  Knox  and  Brownlee,  there  are 
now  in  the  ministry  of  this  Church,  THOMAS  DE  WITT, 
D.D.,  settled  in  1827  ;  THOMAS  E.  VERMILYE,  D.D.,  set 
tled  in  1839 ;  TALBOT  W.  CHAMBERS,  D.D.,  settled  in 
1849. 

When  he  who  now  addresses  you,  became  one  of  the 
pastors  of  this  Church,  in  1827,  the  North  and  Middle 
Churches  were  fully  attended,  and  the  Sabbath  evening 
service  in  the  Middle  Church  was  ordinarily  crowded. 
The  tide  of  removal  of  the  churches,  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  city,  had  not  yet  commenced,  and  the  great 
mass  of  those  worshipping  in  the  churches  of  different 
denominations,  was  in  the  vicinity,  at  a  convenient  dis 
tance.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  congregation  of  the 
Collegiate  Church  resided  below  Fulton  street,  scattered 


52 

along  Broadway  and  Greenwich  street,  around  the  Bat 
tery,  through  Beaver,  Broad,  Liberty,  Cedar,  John 
streets,  Maiden  lane,  etc.  North  of  Fulton  street,  the 
most  substantial  and  fashionable  citizens  were  residing 
along  Broadway,  and  the  streets  running  west  to  the 
North  River,  between  Fulton  and  Chambers,  and 
so  reaching  gradually  beyond.  Very  soon,  however, 
the  increase  of  the  commerce  of  the  city  led  to  the  con 
version  of  private  dwellings  into  stores  and  warehouses, 
and  also  into  boarding-houses.  The  process  became  more 
and  more  rapid,  and  the  more  respectable  citizens  were, 
one  after  another,  going  to  the  upper  part  of  the  city. 
The  effect  upon  the  numbers  in  attendance  became 
more  and  more  visible.  It  was  felt  that,  in  order  not 
merely  to  preserve  the  strength  and  influence  of  the 
Church,  but  eventually  its  very  vitality,  it  became  ne 
cessary  to  provide  a  house  of  worship  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  city,  in  the  neighborhood  to  which  the  tide  of 
removal  tended.  The  Consistory,  in  1836,  purchased 
the  house  of  worship  erected  a  short  time  previous  by 
a  church  organization  of  our  denomination,  in  Ninth 
street,  a  little  east  of  Broadway,  in  which  the  ministers 
of  the  Collegiate  Church  officiated,  and  in  which  a  con 
gregation  in  connection  with  it  was  gathered.  In  the 
mean  time,  measures  were  taken  for  erecting  in  that 
vicinity,  a  new,  spacious,  and  substantial  edifice.  Lots 
were  procured  at  the  corner  of  Lafayette  Place  and 
Fourth  street,  near  Broadway.  The  corner-stone  was 
laid  November  9th,  1836,  and  the  Church  was  dedicated 
May  9th,  1839.  The  church  in  Ninth  street  was  re 
tained  in  connection  with  the  Collegiate  Church,  and  its 


53 

ministers  had  the  ministerial  and  pastoral  charge  of  it 
till  after  the   opening   of    the    Twenty-ninth    street 
Church,  in  1854.     In  1855,  the  Consistory,  at  the  re 
quest  of  a  number  proposing  a  distinct  church  organiz 
ation,  granted  the  church  in  Ninth  street  for  that  pur 
pose,  and  appropriated  an  annual  sum  for  a  limited  pe 
riod  to  aid  in  the  enterprise.    The  organization  took 
the  name  of  the   Central  Keformed   Dutch  Church, 
which  is  now  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the   Rev. 
A.  JB.  Van  Zandt,  D.D.,  with  nattering  promise  of  suc 
cess.     The  course  of  the  conversion  of  the  part  of  the 
city  below,  and  around  into  a  scene  of  commercial  busi 
ness,  so  that  very  few  families  were  left,  caused  the 
audiences  in  the  Middle  Church  to  dwindle  away  to  a 
skeleton  of  what  they  once  were.     It  became  evident 
that  the  law  of  necessity  must  lead  to  and  vindicate  the 
relinquishment  of  that  time-honored  and  endeared  edi 
fice,  while  the  North  Church  would  prove  amply  suffi 
cient  for  the  accommodation  of  those  within  the  range 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  city.     Perhaps  there  was  no 
church  edifice  in  the  city  on  which  so  many  recollec 
tions  and  attachments,  wide  spread  through  the  com 
munity,  rested  as  this.     The  desertion  of  it,  and  its 
subsequent  appropriation  to   secular  uses,  was   sadly 
vieAved  and  felt  by  many.     But  the  propriety  of  the 
measure,  enforced  by  the  constraint  of  circumstances, 
when  resolved  upon  by  the  Consistory,  was  unitedly 
acquiesced    in.     The    last    sermon    preached    in    the 
Church  was  on  the  evening  of  Sabbath,  the  eleventh  of 
August,  1844.    The  senior  pastor,  Dr.  Knox,  preached 
from   John    5:  20-24,   followed   by    a    brief  address 


54 

from  Rev.  Dr.  De  Witt,  one  of  the  colleagues, 
closing  with  the  benediction  in  the  Dutch  language, 
the  language  first  introduced,  and  long  continued  in 
it.  All  this  time  the  population  had  been,  and 
was  rapidly  extending  beyond  Fourth  street,  and 
buildings  of  the  finest  character  were  erected  in 
the  vicinity,  more  and  more  compact,  and  reached 
upwards  with  increasing  force.  When  he  who  ad 
dresses  you  took  his  residence  in  Ninth  street,  which  he 
at  present  occupies,  in  1843,  it  was  quite  on  the  verge 
of  what  could  be  viewed  as  in  any  way  the  compact 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  buildings  beyond  were  com 
paratively  sparse.  Now,  the  position  may  be  termed 
central.  Who  that  reviews,  during  the  thirteen  years 
past,  the  growth  in  population  and  of  improvements, 
reaching  northward,  and  on  the  adjacent  shores  of 
Long  Island  and  New-Jersey,  does  not  feel  emotions  of 
wonder  connecting  the  past  with  the  opening  antici 
pations  of  the  future  ?  Corresponding  with  this  growth 
of  the  city,  church  edifices  in  increasing  numbers  were 
erected  by  the  different  Christian  denominations,  many 
of  them  spacious  and  elegant.  Soon  the  same  tide 
which,  ten  or  twelve  years  before,  removed  our  citizens 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  city  to  the  vicinity  of  La 
fayette  Place,  carried  them  still  farther  and  far 
ther  upward,  while  the  improvements  in  building 
rapidly  extended,  and  the  population  became  more 
dense  in  the  vicinity  of  Madison  Square.  The  Con 
sistory  of  our  Church  felt  the  urgent  importance  and 
desirableness  of  erecting  a  house  of  worship  in  that 
neighborhood.  Accordingly,  lots  were  procured  at  the 


corner  of  the  Fifth  avenue  and  Twenty-ninth  street,  and 
measures  were  at  once  taken  for  building.  The  corner 
stone  was  laid  by  the  senior  pastor,  November  26th, 
1851,  and  the  Church  was  dedicated  on  the  llth  of 
October,  1854.  This  edifice,  and  the  one  in  Lafayette 
Place,  are  distinguished  for  the  solidity  of  their  struc 
ture,  the  beauty,  chasteness,  and  finish  of  their  archi 
tecture,  and  their  adaptedness  to  the  purposes  and  uses 
of  public  worship.  They  are  confessed  by  all  to  stand, 
in  this  point  of  view,  prominent  among  the  houses  of 
worship  in  this  city.  Accompanying  this  discourse  are 
neat  plates  furnishing  a  striking  and  correct  view  of 
them,  with  a  description  of  their  plan  and  archi 
tecture,  in  the  appendix.  The  name  of  "  the  Middle 
Reformed  Dutch  Church"  is  now  appropriated  to 
the  Church  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  street  and  La 
fayette  Place,  a  name  associated  in  many  impressive 
and  pleasant  recollections  with  the  Old  Middle  Church 
in  Nassau  street,  and  now  rendered  suitable  and  proper, 
as  it  is  centrally  situated  between  the  North  Church,  in 
Fulton  street,  and  the  Church  at  the  corner  of  Fifth 
avenue  and  Twenty-ninth  street,  these  three  being  the 
houses  of  worship  now  attached  to  the  Collegiate 
Church. 

While  costly  and  valuable  edifices  have  been  erect 
ed  for  the  accommodation  of  the  wealthier  classes 
of  our  citizens,  the  large  masses  of  the  poorer  classes 
scattered  through  our  city,  need  and  should  receive 
church  accommodations  connected  with  the  ministry  of 
divine  truth,  which  is  designed  to  be  "  preached  to  the 
poor."  It  is  a  gratifying  circumstance,  that  so  many 


56 

means  are  employed  and  efforts  directed,  for  the  spirit 
ual  and  temporal  benefit  of  the  poor,  to  raise  them 
from  their  degradation  in  ignorance,  vice,  and  wretch 
edness,  to  the  light,  hopes,  comforts,  and  holiness  which 
the  Gospel  unfolds.  The  spiritual  life  and  prosperity 
of  any  Church  will  always  be  intimately  connected 
with  the  quickened  spirit,  and  faithful  efforts  cherished 
and  employed  to  diffuse  the  light  of  life  and  the  bless 
ings  of  salvation  around,  and  to  supply  the  means  of 
grace  to  those  who  are  destitute  of  them.  The  har 
monious  efforts  and  counsels  of  evangelical  Christians 
of  all  denominations  are  called  for  to  produce  such  a 
blessed  result  as  to  pervade  this  community  now  so 
largely  populous  with  a  rapidly  advancing  increase, 
with  the  light  and  power  of  divine  truth,  shedding  its 
enlightening,  healing,  purifying,  and  beneficent  influ 
ence.  Let  every  denomination,  strongly  impressed  with 
the  need  of  such  blessings,  by  its  organization  and  or 
der  extend  this  influence,  and  then,  in  common  faith 
and  love,  rejoice  in  every  effort,  and  seek  to  make  the 
whole  tributary  to  the  prosperity  of  the  cause  of 
Christ,  and  the  salvation  of  men.  The  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  should  bear  her  part  faithfully  in  such  a 
service,  in  proportion  to  her  means  and  opportunities, 
so  that "  her  stakes  may  be  strengthened,  and  her  cords 
lengthened."  There  are  now  of  our  denomination,  exclu 
sive  of  the  churches  in  the  Collegiate  connection,  nineteen 
churches  of  distinct  organization  on  Manhattan  Island, 
or  New- York  City.  Most  of  these,  especially  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  century,  were  originated  by  mem 
bers  of  the  Collegiate  Church,  and  were  encouraged  and 


57 

patronized  by  members  of  that  Church,  and  also  by  it 
in  its  corporate  capacity.  The  spirit  of  enlargement 
and  of  progress,  with  united  and  liberal  effort,  if  called 
forth  at  an  earlier  period,  in  the  reasonable  anticipation 
of  the  future  growth  of  the  city,  would  have  accom 
plished  much  more.  But  we  have  reason  to  be  thank 
ful  for  the  advancement  which  has  been  made,  and 
should  be  excited  by  the  consideration  that  our  Church 
is  the  oldest  in  the  city,  and  by  the  review  of  its  onward 
history  and  its  present  position,  to  combine  the  ener 
gies  of  our  denomination  in  bearing  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel  through  her  ecclesiastical  organizations  here  in 
this  city,  and  through  every  avenue  that  opens.  It  was 
not  till  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  and  the  early 
part  of  this,  when  the  Dutch  language  had  grown  gen 
erally  into  disuse,  and  renewed  measures  were  taken  for 
the  building  up  of  the  Literary  Institution  and  of  the 
Theological  Seminary,  that  our  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
in  America  received  a  strong  impulse  and  motive  to 
seek  the  enlargement  of  her  borders  and  the  increase 
of  her  efforts.  Of  late  years,  progress  has  been  stead 
ily  growing,  and  every  encouragement  is  afforded  to 
stimulate  her  exertions  and  excite  her  hopes.  Her  Lit 
erary  Institution  and  Theological  Seminary,  well  estab 
lished  and  in  successful  operation,  her  different  Boards, 
appointed  by  the  General  Synod  to  take  charge  of  the 
various  objects  of  beneficence  bearing  upon  her  pros 
perity,  have  opened  a  tide  of  influence  which  united 
faith,  prayer,  and  effort  will  cause  to  deepen  and  widen, 
and  spread  blessings  in  its  course.  The  term  "Dutch" 
lias  long  since  been  entirely  disconnected  with  the  use 


58 

of  the  language,  and  the  name  of  the  Church  is  re 
tained,  simply  and  most  properly,  as  indicating  her  his 
torical  origin  and  associations,  and  the  standards  of  faith 
and  order  of  church  government  handed  down  in  her. 
Wherever  churches  have  been  planted,  those  who  are 
from  different  ancestry,  and  other  denominations  of 
kindred  faith,  have  entered,  in  large  numbers,  into  her 
communion,  and  become  attached  to  her  character  and 
order.  The  growth,  slow  at  first,  under  the  circum 
stances  stated,  has  been  gradually  gaining,  and,  under 
the  influences  and  means  existing,  has  for  a  few  years 
past  been  more  rapid.  At  present  in  her  communion 
there  are  368  ministers  and  386  churches.  Our  Re 
formed  Dutch  Church  in  America,  throughout  her  his 
tory,  has  been  distinguished  for  her  steady  adherence 
to  the  truth  and  order  she  professes,  while  continually 
dwelling  by  the  side  of  other  evangelical  denomina 
tions,  in  the  exercise  of  mutual  respect  and  kindness. 
She  has  remained  undisturbed  in  the  midst  of  the  agi 
tating  influences  which  have  pressed  around  and  invad 
ed  elsewhere.  As  the  objects  for  Christian  beneficent 
effort  have  been  presented  by  Bible,  Tract,  Mission 
ary  Societies,  etc.,  she  has  borne  her  part  in  proportion 
to  her  numbers  and  extent. 

But  it  is  rather  alien  from  the  purpose  and 
bearing  of  a  discourse  on  this  occasion  to  dilate  on 
the  history  and  attitude  of  the  Church  at  large, 
and  this  brief  allusion  must  suffice.  The  Church 
of  New- York,  the  first  founded,  from  its  position 
sustained  a  prominence  in  the  view  of  the  communi 
ty,  and  was  interwoven  with  the  interests  of  the 


59 

churches  of  the  same  faith  as  they  successively  arose. 
In  the  onward  course  of  events,  her  responsibility  in 
this  position  became  increased.  While  admitting  that 
human  administration  of  such  important  trusts  must  par 
take  of  attending  infirmity,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say, 
in  an  impartial  spirit,  after  somewhat  of  a  careful  re 
view,  that  fidelity  and  watchful  superintendence  of  her 
interests,  in  connection  with  the  interests  of  the  Church 
at  large,  have  marked  the  course  of  the  ruling  authori 
ties,  and  the  people  have  dwelt  together  in  harmony 
and  confidence.  It  is  perhaps  rare  that  there  is  found 
for  a  succession  of  generations,  in  a  collegiate  connec 
tion,  often  viewed  as  a  delicate  one,  so  continued  and 
almost  uninterrupted  concord  and  confidence  between 
the  ministers,  and  so  also  between  ministers  and  people. 
We  revert  to  what,  in  the  commencement  of  this  dis 
course,  was  alluded  to  as  specially  the  theme  of  our 
meditations  and  exercises  on  this  occasion,  when  the  old 
NOETH  CHUECH,  after  being  repaired,  is  presented 
fresh  and  beautiful,  in  her  native  grandeur  and  just 
proportions.  The  term  North,  still  appropriated  to  this 
edifice,  standing  in  the  very  southern  extremity  of  this 
extended  city,  steals  strangely  upon  the  ear  of  a  stran 
ger,  but  when  explained,  it  recalls  the  lapse  of  time  of 
near  ninety  years  when  it  was  erected  in  the  northern 
extremity  or  suburbs  of  the  city  as  it  then  was.  The 
Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Paul's,  in  Broadway,  and  this 
Church,  are  the  two  oldest  houses  of  worship  in  the 
city,  erected  within  three  years  of  each  other.  It  is 
said  that  there  was  a  friendly  strife  between  the  two 
denominations  in  erecting  edifices  which  would  vie  with 


60 

each  other.  It  was  a  strife  entertained  in  those  feelings 
of  kindness  and  habits  of  friendly  social  intercourse 
which  had  pervaded  them.  They  remain  links  con 
necting  the  present  with  the  "  olden  times,"  and  stand 
as  memorials  which  to  many  minds  will  strongly  recall 
the  past.  Well  do  they  deserve  to  be  preserved ;  for,  in 
the  tide  of  architectural  improvement,  and  the  multi 
plication  of  church  edifices  in  our  city,  are  there  any 
that,  taken  as  a  whole,  and  in  all  respects,  excel  Old  St. 
Paul's  and  the  Old  North,  remaining  in  their  general 
character  as  when  first  erected?  Till  this  year  the 
"  Old  Bri/ik  Cliurch"  built  in  17 6 7, so  venerable  and  so 
replete  with  associations,  remained  devoted  to  its  sacred 
uses.  But  it  has  just  been  relinquished  for  the  purpose 
of  building  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  and  the  spot 
on  which  it  stands  has  been  sold,  and  is  now  to  be  ap 
propriated  to  secular  uses.  Changed  as  is  the  part  of 
the  city  within  the  vicinity  and  convenient  range  of 
this  Church,  now  engrossed  by  commercial  warehouses 
and  employments,  and  by  buildings  occupied  by  tran 
sient  residents,  the  field  is  become  more  appropriate  for 
missionary  labor,  to  induce  and  gather  in  attendance  on 
the  sanctuary  services  out  of  the  many  in  the  fluctuat 
ing  population  still  resident  in  the  lower  wards,  and  of 
those  who  sojourn  here  or  are  passing  through  our  city. 
This  church  will  remain  free  and  open,  inviting  them 
within  its  walls.  Although  it  can  not  strictly  and  fully 
be  termed  a  free  church,  as  a  number  of  pews  are  owned 
and  occupied  by  individuals  and  families,  yet  far  the 
largest  portion  are  thrown  open  to  those  who  may  de 
sire  to  enter  and  worship  within  it,  and  they  will  be 


61 

gladly  welcomed.  To  all  practical  intents  and  uses  it 
may  be  considered  a  free  church.  While  the  families 
resident,  and  under  direct  and  constant  pastoral  care 
and  inspection,  have  been  rapidly  lessening  in  number, 
and  are  now  become  very  few,  the  call  is  urgent  to  seek 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  population  of  this  part  of 
the  city,  in  the  peculiar  character  and  condition  in 
which  they  are  found.  It  is  desirable  that  the  best 
means  should  be  devised  and  employed  to  attain  and 
secure  this  object.  Christians  in  this  vicinity  are  de 
sired  to  add  their  influence  and  cooperation  in  aiding 
the  ministerial  labors  here  employed  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  this  portion  of  the  city.  An  inviting  field 
is  here  spread  around  for  pious  youth,  to  engage  in 
active  exertion  in  doing  good  to  the  temporally  and 
spiritually  poor,  spread  in  abundance  through  it.  Con 
venient  and  ample  rooms  in  the  adjacent  consistorial 
buildings  are  furnished  for  Sabbath-school  instruction 
and  other  uses  promoting  the  great  object.  Our  earlier 
houses  of  worship  have  passed  away.  A  commercial 
warehouse  has  taken  the  place  of  the  Old  South,  and 
the  Old  Middle  still  presents  its  outward  form  of  struc 
ture,  reminding  us  of  the  past,  while  twelve  years  since 
it  was  relinquished  as  a  house  of  worship,  and  has 
been  used  by  the  General  Government  as  the  Post- 
Office  of  this  city.  Let  this  old  North  Cliurcli  stand, 
as  linking  the  present  with  the  memory  of  the  past,  and 
to  impress  upon  us  the  right  estimate  of  our  privileges 
and  responsibility,  in  spreading  the  influence  of  the  Gos 
pel  in  the  sphere  we  occupy,  and  especially  in  not  ne 
glecting  the  field  around  this  time-honored  edifice.  Well 


62 

may  we  unite  with  the  Psalmist,  and  say  at  this  time, 
and  in  this  place :  "  FOB  MY  BRETHREN  AND  COMPANIONS' 

SAKE,  I  WILL  NOW  SAY,  PEACE  BE  WITHIN  THEE.  BE 
CAUSE  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  LORD  OUR  GOD,  I  WILL 
SEEK  THY  GOOD." 


APPENDIX 


[NOTE    A.] 

Struggle  in  fjallanft, 

AND  THE 

FIRST   COLONIAL   SETTLEMENT  BY   THE   HOLLANDERS   HERE. 

[Page  20.] 

THERE  is  a  brief  reference  in  the  Discourse  to  the  struggle  in  the 
Netherlands,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  against  the  combined  Spanish, 
Imperial,  and  Papal  powers,  which  issued  in  the  independence  of  and 
the  formation  of  a  Federal  Republic  in  the  Seven  Northern  Prov 
inces,  and  the  rise  and  establishment  of  the  Reformed  Church  there, 
and  also  of  the  first  colonial  settlement  by  the  Hollanders  here.  Com 
mendatory  allusion  was  made  to  the  recent  works,  which  have  gained 
so  high  a  reputation  in  the  literary  world,  "Prescotts  Philip  II."  and 
"Motley's  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  These  volumes  will  have  the 
happy  effect  of  leading  to  the  investigation  and  study  of  the  history  of 
the  eventful  period  of  the  sixteenth  century,  particularly  as  portraying 
the  severe  and  prolonged  Reformation  struggle  in  the  Netherlands, 
and  to  trace  the  results  and  effects  of  it.  There  is  no  page  in  history 
more  replete  with  thrilling  events,  having  influences  connected  with 
them,  than  that  which  records  the  progress  and  consequences  of  that 
struggle.  The  reader  is  urgently  referred  to  the  "History  of  the  State 
of  New-York"  by  J.  Romeyn  Brodhead,  Esq.,  the  first  volume  of 
which  is  published,  and  comprises  the  period  during  the  Dutch 
Colonial  Government,  from  1609  to  1664.  The  discovery  and  set 
tlement  of  New-Netherland,  and  the  course  of  events  during  the 
Dutch  Dynasty,  are  minutely  and  carefully  detailed.  Mr.  B.,  as 
agent  of  the  State  of  New- York,  for  examining  the  Archives  of  State, 
at  the  courts  of  London,  Paris,  and  the  Hague,  and  procuring  ma- 


64 

terials  for  the  History  of  the  State,  collected  a  large  amount,  now  de 
posited  in  the  Secretary's  Office  at  Albany.  From  the  documents  he 
gathered  in  Holland,  and  the  papers  in  the  State  department  at  Al 
bany,  he  has  digested  and  prepared  a  volume  which  exhausts  the 
subject,  and  is  of  standard  value.  It  is  hoped  that  his  health  may  be 
spared,  and  leisure  may  be  supplied  to  him  that  he  may  be  enabled 
to  prosecute  the  work  to  its  completion,  and  realize  what  is  now  a 
desideratum.  In  one  or  two  of  the  chapters  of  the  volume  there  is  a 
succinct  reference  to  the  Reformation  contest  in  the  Netherlands  and 
the  Republic  of  Holland,  in  her  character  and  progress,  and  to  its 
Reformed  Church.  It  is  a  matter  of  gratification  that  the  author  is  a 
son  of  our  own  Church. 

A  volume  has  recently  been  published  by  the  Board  of  Publication 
of  our  Church,  with  the  title,  "HISTORY  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF 
THE  REFORMED  PROTESTANT  DUTCH  CHURCH,"  by  Rev.  D.  D.  Dem- 
arest  of  Hudson.  It  gives  a  sketch  of  the  Reformation  in  Holland, 
the  rise  and  organization  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and  traces  it  down 
to  the  period  of  the  colonization  in  America  in  1620.  It  then  gives 
the  history  of  our  Church  here  to  the  present  time.  A  view  is  given 
of  the  history  and  characteristics  of  our  doctrinal  standards  and  system 
of  Church  governments.  The  present  condition  is  exhibited  as  to 
her  ecclesiastical  organizations,  her  literary  and  theological  institu 
tions,  and  the  different  Boards  of  the  General  Synod,  etc.  It  is  a 
duodecimo  volume  of  250  pages,  judiciously  executed,  and  well  adapt 
ed  to  meet  the  inquiries  as  to  the  history  and  character  of  our  Church. 
It  well  deserves  to  be  extensively  circulated. 


[NOTE   B.] 

0f  Pwtatta  in  WA. 

[Page  22.] 

ONE  of  the  most  important  incidents  in  the  History  of  the  State 
of  New- York  is  the  purchase  by  the  Dutch  of  the  site  of  its  present 
metropolis  from  its  aboriginal  savage  owners.  Soon  after  the  discov 
ery  of  the  North  River,  by  Hudson,  the  Hollanders  formed  settle 
ments  on  its  banks,  at  what  is  now  Albany,  and  on  Manhattan  Island. 
In  the  spring  of  the  year  1626  Governor  Peter  Minuit,  under  instruc 
tions  from  the  Dutch  West-India  Company,  opened  negotiations  with 


65 

the  savages  for  the  transfer  to  the  Hollanders  of  the  Island  of  Man 
hattan,  which,  from  its  admirable  position,  they  foresaw  would 
become  the  centre  of  their  American  commerce,  and  the  capital  of 
their  Province  of  New-Netherland.  They  desired  to  superadd  to 
their  original  title,  by  discovery  and  occupation,  the  higher  right,  by 
honest  purchase.  Minuit  accordingly  made  a  treaty  with  the  sav 
ages  by  which  they  ceded  to  the  Dutch  the  Island  of  Manhattan,  then 
estimated  to  contain  twenty-two  thousand  acres,  for  the  value  of  sixty 
guilders,  or  about  twenty-four  dollars  of  our  present  currency. 

This  interesting  event  is  illustrated  in  a  picture  painted  for  Dr. 
James  Anderson  of  the  city  of  New-York,  by  Wm.  Ranney.  The 
transaction  is  represented  as  occurring  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  island,  near  what  is  now  the  Battery.  In  the  distance  are  the 
high  grounds  of  Staten  Island,  with  the  nearer  shore  of  Governor's 
Island  in  front,  while  a  ship  is  lying  at  anchor,  having  apparently 
just  arrived  from  the  sea.  The  principal  figure  in  the  foreground  is 
Director  Minuit,  attended  by  the  Provincial  Secretary,  Isaac  de 
Rasieres,  the  schout  or  sheriff,  the  kranck-besoecker,  or  "  consoler  of 
the  sick,"  who  supplied  the  place  of  a  regular  clergyman,  and  other 
officials  connected  with  the  colonial  administration.  The  dresses  of 
these  persons  are  all  faithfully  copied  from  authentic  representations 
of  the  Dutch  costume  of  that  period.  The  red  men,  in  their  savage 
attire,  with  their  squaws  and  children,  are  engaged  in  examining,  with 
wonder  and  delight,  the  trinkets  and  European  cloths  which  Minuit 
delivers  to  them  as  the  consideration  for  the  purchase.  In  the  back 
ground  is  a  rough  cabin,  with  its  Dutch  occupants — the  forerunner  of 
the  magnificent  edifices  which  now  adorn  New- York — while  the  virgin 
forest,  yet  unsubdued  by  the  colonists,  stretches  unbroken  to  the 
northward.  The  treatment  of  the  subject  is  natural  and  probable ; 
the  figure  of  Minuit,  especially,  is  well  studied  and  is  finely  brought 
out  by  those  of  the  savages  who  surround  him.  Of  these  the  kneel 
ing  figure  of  an  Indian  girl  is  perhaps  the  most  pleasing. 

This  scene,  which  places  the  character  of  the  Dutch  settlers  of  New- 
York  in  so  honorable  a  light,  is  worthily  commemorated  in  Dr.  An 
derson's  picture.  Neither  Plymouth  nor  Boston  can  point  to  such  an 
incident  in  their  history.  The  Dutch  enjoy  the  illustrious  distinction 
of  giving  the  example  to  Europeans  of  honest  dealing  with  the  abo 
rigines  who  owned  the  land  they  wished  to  possess ;  and  the  purchase 
of  Manhattan,  in  1626,  was  only  imitated  when  Penu,  fifty-six  years 
afterwards,  bought  the  site  of  Philadelphia  from  the  Indians,  under 
the  famous  elm  tree  at  Shackamaxon. 


66 


[NOTE    C.] 

gam.  Slips'  fist  of  SUmtors  in 

[Page  24] 

WERE  we  to  copy  this  list  it  might  interest  many  who  delight  t<» 
search  into  the  "  olden  time"  and  trace  the  names  of  their  ancestry 
or  of  honored  and  well  known  families,  and  the  locality  of  their  resi 
dence  at  that  time.  To  others,  however,  it  would  prove  dry  and  un 
interesting,  and  space  can  not  be  afforded  for  it.  It  may  be  gratifying 
to  mark  the  arrangement  of  the  streets  in  which  the  families  were 
rasident  at  that  early  period.  We  give  the  Dutch  names  of  the 
streets  found  in  the  list,  their  translation  into  English,  and  their 
present  locality.  The  whole  number  of  members  on  this  list  is  five 
hundred  and  sixty,  distributed  as  follows :  De  Breede  Weg,  (Broadway,) 
56 ;  Beurs  straat,  (Exchange  street,)  at  present  Whitehall  street,  13  ; 
Paerl  straat,  (Pearl  street,)  now  Pearl  street,  between  State  and 
Whitehall  sts.,  34 ;  Lang  de  Strand,  (along  shore,)  now  the  north  side 
of  Pearl  street  and  Hanover  Square,  between  Whitehall  and  Wall 
sts.,  67  ;  Lang  de  Wall,  (Wall  street,)  22  ;  Nieuw  straat,  the  present 
New  street,  18  ;  Sever  straat,  (Beaver  street,)  between  Broadway  and 
Broad  street,  16  ;  Markvelt  straat,  (Marketfield  street,)  9 ;  Brouwer's 
atraat,  (Brewer's  st.,)  now  the  part  of  Stone  street  between  Whitehall 
and  Broad  sts,  16 ;  Brug  straat,  (Bridge  street,)  15  ;  Heeren  Gracht, 
(Gentlemen's  Canal,) — the  term  gracht,  or  canal,  was  given  to  what 
is  now  Broad  street,  because  a  canal  ran  through  the  middle  of 
it — oostzyde,  (east  side,)  37;  Heeren  Gracht,  west  zyde,  (Broad  street, 
west  side,)  49 ;  Hoog  straat,  (High  street,)  now  the  part  of  Stone 
street  between  Broad  and  William  sts.,  62;  Slyck  straat,  (Ditch 
street,)  now  South  William,  formerly  Sloat  Lane,  5 ;  Prinsess  straat. 
(Prince  street,)  now  Beaver  street,  between  Broad  and  William,  15  ; 
Koning  straat,  (King  street,)  now  Pine,  8  ;  Smit  straat,  (Smith  street,) 
now  William  street,  below  Wall,  28 ;  Smifs  Vallei,  (Smith's  Valley,) 
on  the  road  along  the  East  River  shore,  above  Wall  street,  29; 
over  het  versche  water,  (beyond  the  fresh  water,)  which  was  after 
wards  called  the  Collect,  47.  There  were  seven  in  the  Deacon's 
house  for  the  poor,  in  Broad  street.  One  is  noted  as  buiten  de  landt 
poort,  (beyond  the  land  gate,)  that  is,  on  the  present  Broad  way,  above 
Wall,  only  one.  There  are  seven  placed  at  a  more  remote  dis 
tance.  The  above  is  given  to  show  in  what  a  small  part  of  the 
lower  portion  of  the  city  the  more  compact  portion  of  the  popula 
tion  was  comprised  in  1686. 


67 
[NOTE    D.] 

Sumssiou  0f  %  fpinistas 

OF  THE  COLLEGIATE  REFORMED  DUTCH  CHURCH  IN  THE  CITY  OF 

NEW-YORK. 

THE  names  of  the  ministers  in  succession  have  been  referred  to  in 
the  Discourse,  and  from  Dr.  Laidlie  to  the  present  time  very  brief 
characteristic  notices  of  the  deceased  ministers  are  inserted.  It  may 
be  well  to  give  a  tabular  view  of  the  line  in  succession,  so  as  to  meet 
the  eye  at  once. 

EVERARDUS  BOGARDUS,  from  1633  to  1647 

JOANNES  BACKERUS,  "  1648  "  1649 

JOANNES  MEGAPOLENSIS,  "  1649  "  1669 

SAMUEL  DRISIUS,  -  "  1652  "  1671 

SAMUEL  MEGAPOLENSIS,  "  1664  "  1668 

WILHELMUS  VAN  NIEUWENHUYSEN,  "  1671  "  1681 

HENRICUS  SELTNS,  "  1682  "  1701 

GUALTERUS  DUBOIS,  «  1699  "  1751 

HENRICUS  BOEL,    -  "  1714  "  1754 

JOANNES  RITZEMA,  "  1744  "  1795 

LAMBERTUS  DE  RONDE,  "  1751  "  1796 

ARCHIBALD  LAIDLIE,      -  "  1764  "  1779 

JOHN  H.  LIVINGSTON,    -  "  1770  "  1810 
(Elected  Theological  Professor  at  New- 
Brunswick—died,  1825.) 

WILLIAM  LINN,     -  -  "     1786  "  1808 

(In  1805,  by  reason  of  failing  health,  he 
retired  from  the  active  duties  of  the- 
ministry  and  removed  to  Albany, 
where  he  died  in  1808.) 

GERARDUS  A.  KUYPERS,  "     1789  "  1833 

JOHN  N.  ABEEL,  "     1795  "  1812 

JOHN  SCHUREMAN,  "     1809  "  1811 

(Chosen  Professor  in  Queen's  (now  Rut 
gers)  College— died,  1818.) 

JACOB  BRODHEAD,  "     1809  "  1813 

(Called  to  Philadelphia — occupied  other 

posts  of  usefulness — died,  1855.) 

PHILIP  MILLEDOLER,  '  -        -  «     1813  "  1825 

(Chosen  Professor  of  Theology  at  New- 
Brunswick — died,  1852.) 

PASCHAL  N.  STRONG,     -  "     1816  "  1825 


68 


PRESENT    PASTORS. 

JOHN  KNOX,  1816 

WILLIAM  C.  BROWNLEE,  1826 

THOMAS  DE  WITT.  1827 

THOMAS  E.  VERMILYE,  1839 

TALBOT  W.  CHAMBERS,  1849 

It  is  noted  in  the  Discourse  that  Dr.  Laidlie  died  in  the  Revolutionary 
War,  when  the  congregation  was  driven  out  of  the  city,  into  the  coun 
try,  at  Red  Hook,  in  1775.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  aged  ministers, 
who  officiated  in  the  Dutch  language,  chose  to  remain  in  the  place  of 
their  exile,  were  declared  emeriti,  and  a  handsome  annuity  for  life  was 
settled  upon  them.  As  very  brief  characteristic  notices  are  given  of  the 
deceased  ministers  to  the  present  time,  since  Dr.  Laidlie,  it  is  proper  to 
add  a  few  remarks  on  the  line  of  the  ministry  previous  to  that  time, 
from  the  earliest  period.  Of  some,  as  Dom.  VAN  NIEUWENHUYSEN  and 
BOEL,  we  have  no  materials  except  some  of  their  correspondence  with 
the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  and  the  knowledge  that  they  fulfilled  their 
ministry  in  the  confidence  of  their  people.  We  have  reason  to  be 
lieve  that  all  the  ministers  that  came  from  Holland  to  this  Church 
were  regularly  educated  in  the  Universities,  and  were  possessed  of 
solid  acquirements.  The  usefulness  of  the  first  minister,  EVERARDUS 
BOGARDUS,  was  impaired  by  collisions  which  occurred  between  him 
and  individuals,  and  the  Governor.  In  1647  he  took  passage  for 
Holland  to  meet  certain  charges,  presented  to  the  Classis  of  Amster 
dam,  and  make  explanations.  Governor  Kieft  went  in  the  same 
vessel,  which  was  lost  at  sea,  and  all  were  drowned.  His  descend 
ants  which  remain  among  us  are  numerous.  The  Rev.  JOANNES 
MEGAPOLENSIS  first  came  out  under  the  patronage  of  the  Patroon 
of  Rensselaerwick,  and  by  the  appointment  of  the  Classis  of  Amster 
dam  to  take  charge  of  the  church,  at  what  is  now  Albany,  in  1642. 
An  adequate  support  was  pledged,  and  it  was  stipulated  that  after 
five  years  he  should  be  at  liberty  to  return  to  the  father-land.  Dur 
ing  this  period  he  had  friendly  acquaintance  and  intercourse  with 
the  Mohawk  and  neighboring  Indians.  He  wrote  a  treatise  on  the 
Mohawk  Indians,  which  was  at  the  time  published  in  Holland,  and 
has  been  translated  and  published  here.  He  was  instrumental  in 
saving  one  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  from  the  extremity  of  torture 
and  probable  death  by  the  Indians,  and  then  took  him  to  his  own 
house  and  provided  for  his  wants.  He  carried  on  a  correspondence 
with  Father  Simon  Lemoine,  of  the  Jesuit  mission,  on  the  topics  in 
controversy  between  the  Roman  and  Protestant  Churches,  in  the 


69 

Latin  language.  When  his  five  years  expired,  and  as  he  was  about 
to  return  to  Holland,  on  his  way  stopping  at  Manhattan,  he  was  im 
portuned  to  remain  and  take  charge  of  the  church  there,  now  vacant. 
Strongly  pressed  by  the  church  and  Governor  Stuy  vesant,  he  consent 
ed,  although  his  wife  had  already  gone  over  to  Holland.  He  died  in 
a  good  old  age,  in  1669,  having  been  in  the  early  meridian  of  life 
when  he  came  from  Holland,  the  respected  pastor  of  an  important 
church  there  for  many  years. 

SAMUEL  DRISIUS  became  colleague  pastor  with  Megapolensis,  in 
1652,  having  been  selected  on  account  of  his  knowledge  of  the  French 
and  English  languages,  that  he  might  minister  to  the  Trench  and  Eng 
lish  residents  or  visitors  at  New- Amsterdam  and  its  vicinity.  He 
had  previously  been  pastor  of  a  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Lon 
don,  which  shows  the  estimate  in  which  he  was  held.  He  speaks 
in  his  letters  to  the  Classis  of  his  going  once  a  month  to  Staten  Island 
to  preach  to  the  French.  These  French  were  Vaudois,  or  Walden- 
ses,  who  had  fled  from  the  severity  of  the  persecutions  in  Piedmont 
to  Holland,  and  were,  by  the  liberality  of  the  city  of  Amsterdam, 
provided  for,  and  forwarded  to  settle  in  New-Netherland. 

SAMUEL  MEGAPOLENSIS  was  the  youngest  son  of  the  pastor  just 
noticed,  and  was  a  child  when  his  father  removed  from  Holland. 
He  was  sent  to  pursue  his  classical  studies  at  Harvard  University, 
at  Cambridge,  in  Massachusetts.  He  afterwards  went  to  the  Uni 
versity  of  Utrecht,  in  Holland,  where  he  pursued  a  regular  course 
of  study  for  three  years.  He  received  licensure  both  as  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel  and  as  a  physician.  He  arrived  here  in  the  early  part 
of  1664,  and  became  a  colleague  pastor.  In  September  of  that  year 
he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Stuyvesant  one  of  the  commission 
ers  to  negotiate  with  the  British  commissioners  for  the  surrender  of 
the  colony.  He  returned  to  Holland  in  1668,  shortly  previous  to 
the  death  of  his  father. 

The  most  distinguished  of  the  ministers  who  came  from  Holland 
was  HENRICUS  SELYNS.  He  first  came  in  1660,  and  officiated  at 
Brooklyn,  and  Governor  Stuyvesant's  Bouwerie,  or  farm,  the  Gov 
ernor  stipulating  to  pay  the  portion  for  his  services  in  his  neighborhood 
out  of  his  private  means,  and  particularly  committing  to  him  the  in 
struction  and  religious  benefit  of  the  negroes.  During  the  four  years 
that  he  remained  in  that  sphere  he  was  greatly  useful  and  highly 
esteemed.  In  the  summer  of  1664  he  returned  to  Holland,  and  set 
tled  in  a  prominent  place  there.  In.  1670,  on  the  death  of  Megapolen 
sis,  and  the  sickness  and  debility  of  Drisius,  inducing  a  pressing 
want  of  ministerial  service,  a  call  was  made  upon  Selyns  with  more 


70 

than  common  urgency.  The  impression  he  had  left  by  his  previous 
ministrations  was  deep  and  strong.  He,  however,  declined.  After  the 
death  of  Dom.  Van  Nieuwenhuysen,  in  1681,  the  church  at  once  di 
rected  a  renewed  and  strongly  enforced  appeal,  to  which  he  favorably 
responded,  and  became  sole  pastor  of  the  church  from  1682  to  1699, 
When  he  received  a  colleague,  and  died  in'  1701.  There  is  sufficient 
evidence  remaining  to  show  his  systematic,  industrious,  and  energetic 
discharge  of  his  ministerial  and  pastoral  duties,  and  that  he  gave  a 
happy  direction  to  the  interests  of  the  Church.  He  appears  to  have 
acquired  much  literary  cultivation.  He  was  in  correspondence  with 
eminent  divines  in  Holland,  and  with  ministers  in  Boston,  in  New- 
England,  the  Mathers  and  others.  There  is  prefixed  to  Cotton  Ma 
ther's  "Magnolia,  American^  a  Latin  congratulatory  poem  of  some 
length,  signed,  "  Henricus  Selyns,  Ecclesiastes  Neo  Eboracensis"  At 
the  publication  of  John  Elliot's  celebrated  Indian  Bible  he  procured 
it  and  sent  it  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam.  It  could  be  wished  that 
more  materials  had  survived  to  elucidate  his  character  and  ministry. 

GUALTERUS  DUBOIS  became  a  colleague  with  Selyns,  in  1699,  two 
years  before  his  death.  He  was  in  his  twenty-eighth  year,  the  son  of 
a  distinguished  minister,  afterwards  settled  in  the  church  of  Amster 
dam,  and  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Leyden.  He  ministered  in 
the  church  of  New-York  fifty-one  years.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a 
man  of  a  quiet  and  peaceful  spirit,  and  in  seasons  of  difficulty  to  hare 
exerted  a  happy  influence  to  conciliate  and  heal.  Respected  in  his 
pulpit  exercises,  prudent,  judicious,  and  consistent  in  his  practical 
•course,  and  kind  in  his  spirit,  he  won  the  affection  of  the  Church  and 
the  respect  of  the  community.  He  preached  for  the  last  time  on  the 
25th  of  September,  1751.  He  designed  to  proceed  to  Bergen  the 
next  day,  Monday,  to  preach  and  administer  the  Lord's  Supper.  But 
'he  was  seized  with  illness  in  his  study  that  Sabbath  evening,  which  in 
;a  few  days  terminated  in  his  death,  having  passed  his  eightieth  year. 
His  descendants  are  quite  numerous. 

JOANNES  RITZEMA  and  LAMBERTUS  DE  RONDE  were  thoroughly 
•educated  in  Holland,  and  brought  to  their  pulpit  service  full  prepara 
tion.  They  sustained  a  highly  respectable  character  during  their  min 
istry  in  New- York,  and  after  leaving  the  city  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  remaining  in  their  old  age  in  the  places  of  their  exile,  they 
sustained  the  same  character  of  high  respect  paid  to  them  during  their 
whole  lives. 

The  Consistory  some  years  since  resolved  to  obtain,  as  far  as  prac 
ticable,  portraits  of  their  deceased  ministers,  and  place  them  perma 
nently  in  the  Consistory  Chamber.  After  diligent  search  the  portraits 


71 

of  several  of  the  earlier  ministers  were  discovered  and  obtained. 
All  in  succession  to  the  present  time  from  Domine  Dubois,  thirteen 
in  number,  have  been  procured,  and  are  arranged  and  hung  on  the 
\valls  of  the  Consistory  Chamber  of  the  Middle  Church  on  Lafayette 
Place.  Portraits  of  the  ministers  earlier  than  Dubois  could  not  be 
found.  It  is  designed  that  as  death  shall  successively  remove  the 
pastors,  their  portraits  shall  at  once  find  their  places  in  the  collection. 


[NOTE     E.] 

af  %  piasters  0f  %  tytfwwto  gwttlj 

IN  NORTH  AMERICA, 

IN"  CHRONOLOGICAL  ORDER,  FROM  1633  TO  1800. 
[Page  25.] 

1  HAVE  hesitated  to  insert  the  subjoined  list  of  ministers  of  the  Re 
formed  Dutch  Church  from  its  first  planting  down  to  1800,  as  it  con 
sumes  much  space,  and  will  prove  uninteresting  to  a  large  proportion 
of  readers.  Some  of  my  ministerial  brethren,  however,  have  advised 
me  to  insert  it,  as  the  outlines  can  not  readily  be  procured.  After 
1800,  the  published  Minutes  of  the  General  Synod,  and  the  more 
recent  history  of  the  progress  of  our  Church,  and  the  succession  of 
its  ministry  within  the  memory  of  those  living,  will  readily  supply 
the  information  desired  on  those  points.  I  have  made  the  chronological 
list  as  full  and  accurate  as  materials  in  my  possession  could  enable 
me.  In  some  cases  I  was  unable  to  ascertain  the  precise  time  of  the 
beginning  and  duration  of  the  ministries.  Where  stated,  a  slight 
mistake  may  have  occurred,  but  I  believe  they  will  be  found  unim 
portant.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  progress  which  was  slow  during  the 
prevalence  of  the  preaching  in  the  Dutch  language,  became  increased 
towards  the  latter  part  of  the  century,  and  with  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  As  that  language  became  into  general,  and  soon 
into  total  disuse,  its  progress  became  accelerated.  One  thing  has 
escaped  the  recollection  of  our  ministry,  the  efforts  taken  for  mission 
ary  labor  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  As  early  as 
1789,  the  Rev.  Jacob  Jennings  went  to  Virginia,  and  labored  in 
Hardy  county.  A  church  was  organized  at  Hanover  District,  on  the 


72 


Susquehanna,  in  1792.  The  Rev.  P.  Labagh  was  sent  as  a  mission 
ary  to  Kentucky,  immediately  after  his  licensure,  in  1796,  when  he 
organized  a  church  in  Mercer,  where  a  number  of  Dutch  families  from 
New-Jersey  had  settled.  For  want  of  an  adequate  supply  of  minis 
ters,  these  interests  thus  created  were  suffered  to  languish  and  die. 
The  church  at  Conewago,  in  Adams  county,  Pa.,  is  referred  to  in  the  list 
in  connection  with  two  ministers.  Several  Dutch  families  from  New- 
York  had  moved  into  the  vicinity,  and  a  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was 
at  once  organized.  After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  in  1795,  no 
supply  came  from  our  church,  and  it  became  a  Presbyterian  church. 
Other  points  of  a  similar  nature  might  be  furnished,  having  passed 
from  the  memory  of  our  present  ministry,  and  not  found  in  printed 
minutes.  But  too  much  space  has  already  been  occupied  here. 

1633-1647.  EVERARDUS  BOGARDUS,  at  New- Amsterdam,  now  New- 
York. 

1648-1649.  JOHANNES  BACKERUS,  from  Curagoa.  After  a  year  he 
returned  to  Holland. 

1642-1648.  JOHANNES  MEGAPOLENSIS,  at  Rensselaerwyck,  now  Al 
bany. 

1649-1669.     JOHANNES  MEGAPOLENSIS,  New- Amsterdam. 

1652-1671.     SAMUEL  DRISIUS,  New-Amsterdam. 

1654-1676.  JOHANNES  THEODORUS  POLHEMUS,  at  Midwout,  now 
Flatbush,  Flatlands,  Brooklyn. 

1658-1699.     GIDEON  SCHAATS,  Rensselaerwyck,  now  Albany. 

1660-1664.  HENRICUS  SELYNS,  at  Breukelen,  (now  Brooklyn,)  and 
Governor  Stuy vesant's  Bouwerie,  or  farm.  He  went 
back  to  Holland  in  1664,  and  then  returned,  being 
called  to  the  church  of  New- York  in  1682,  and  died 
in  1701. 

1660—1664.  HERMANUS  BLOM,  at  Esopus,  now  Kingston.  He  re 
turned  to  Holland. 

Churches  were  organized  at  Bergen,  and  Staten  Island, 
and  Harlem,  about  this  time. 

1664-1668.  SAMUEL  MEGAPOLENSIS,  at  New- York.  He  returned  to 
Holland. 

1667-1680.     LAURENTIUS  VAN  GAASBEEK,  Kingston. 

1671-1681.     WILHELMUS  VAN  NIEUWENHUYSEN,  New-York. 

1677-1685.  CASPARUS  VAN  ZUUREN,  Kings  county,  L.  I.  Returned 
to  Holland. 

1681.  JOHANNES  WEEKSTEEN,  Kingston. 

1683-1699.     GODEFRIDUS  DELLIUS,  Albany. 


1683.  The  church  at  New-Pal tz,  Ulster  county,  organized. 

1684-1690.     PETRUS  TASSCHEMACIIER,  Schenectady.     Massacred  by 

the  Indians. 

1685-1694.     RUDOLPHUS  VAN  VARICK,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 
1 687-1 691.     LAURENTIUS  VANDENBOSCH,  Kingston. 
1694.  GILLIAM  BERTHOLF,  Aquackenonk,  and  Hackensack,  N.  J. 

The  time  of  his  death  uncertain,  probably  about  1720. 
1695-1698.     JOHANNES  PETRUS  NUCELLA,  Kingston,  1699-1702,  at 

Albany. 

1695-1702.     WILHELMUS  LUPARDUS,  Kings  county,  L.  I.' 
1699.  The  church  at  Raritan  organized  by  Dom.  Bertholf,  of 

Hackensack. 

1699-1751.     GUALTERUS  DUBOIS,  New- York. 
1700-1705.     BERNARDUS  FREEMAN,  Schenectady. 

The  same  from  1705-1741,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 
1702.  The  church  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  organized. 

1703-1709.     JOHANNES  LYDIUS,  Albany. 
1706-1710.     HENRICUS  BEYS,  Kingston. 
1705-1744.     VICENTIUS  ANTONIDES,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 
1709-1731.     JOSEPH  MORGAN,  Freehold  and  Middletown,  N.  J. 
1711-1732.     PETRUS  VAS,  Kingston. 

1711.  HENDRICK  HAGER,  East  and  West  Camp,  in  Columbia 

and  Ulster  county,  and  also  in  Schoharie. 
1712-1723.     THOMAS  BROUWER,  Schenectady. 
1712-1738.     PETRUS  VAN  DRIESSEN,  Albany. 

1712.  The  church  at  Kinderhook  organized  by  the  Rev.  P. 

Van  Driessen. 
1713-1754.     HENRICUS  BOEL,  New-York. 

1716.  The  churches  at  Poughkeepsie  and  Fishkill  organized 

by  Rev.  P.  Vas.  The  church  at  Claverack  by  Rev. 
P.  Van  Driessen. 

1717.  The  church  at  Three  Mile  Run  organized.     Afterwards 

located  at  New-Brunswick.  The  residence  of  the 
first  Domine,  Frelinghuysen,  was  at  Three  Mile  Run, 
and  his  remains  are  there  interred. 

1719.  The  church  at  North  Branch,  N.  J.,  organized. 
1719-1747.     THEODORUS  JACOBUS    FRELINGHUYSEN,   at  Three   Mile 

Run,  Raritan,  North  Branch. 

1720.  JOHN  JACOB  EHLE,  Schoharie,  and  along  the  Mohawk. 
1720.  The  church  at  Linlithgow,  (Livingston's  Manor,)  organ 

ized. 

1726-1740.     CORNELIUS  VAN  SANTVOORD,  Staten  Island.     In  1740  he 
removed  to  Schenectady,  where  he  died  in  1752. 


74 


17*26-1735.  HENRICUS  COENS,  Aquackenonk,  and  Second  River,  (now 
Belleville,)  N.  J. 

1726-1750.     FREDERICK  MUTZELIUS,  Tappan,  Rockland  county. 

1727-1735.     JOHANNES  VAN  DRIESSEN,  Kinderhook  and  Claverack. 
The  same  from  1735-1740  at  Aquackenonk,  N.  J. 

1726-1736.  REINHART  ERICKSON,  Schenectady.  Removed  to  Free 
hold  and  Middletown,  N.  J.,  where  he  died  in  1764. 

1730-1755.     ANTONIUS  CURTENIUS,  Hackensack,  N.  J. 

The  same  from  1755-1757,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 

1732—1756.     GEORGIUS  WILHELMUS  MANCIUS,  Kingston. 

1731-1738.     CORNELIUS  VAN  SCHIE,  Poughkeepsie  and  Fishkill. 
And  from  1738-1744,  Albany. 

1731-1735.  GERARD  HAEGHOORT,  at  Freehold  and  Middletown. 
Afterwards,  from  1735-1754,  at  Second  River,  now 
Belleville. 

1731.  The  church  at  Rhinebeck  Flats  was  organized  and  sup 

plied  by  Rev.  C.  Van  Schie. 

1731.  The  church  at  Newtown,  L.  I.,  organized. 

1732.  The  church  at  Middleburgh,  Schoharie  county,  organ 

ized  by  Rev.  G.  M.  Weiss. 

1732-1737.  GEORGE  MICHAEL  WEISS,  Schoharie,  and  occasionally 
at  Catskill  and  Coxsackie.  Removed  to  Pennsyl 
vania. 

1740-1744.     JOHANNES  HENRICUS  GOETSCHIUS,  Jamaica,  L.  I. 

The   same,   1744-1772,   Hackensack   and  Schralen- 
burgh. 

1734.  The   church    at  Wallkill,   now  Montgomery,    Orange 

county,  organized. 

1736.  The  church  at  Rochester,  Ulster  county,  organized. 

1738-1755.     JOHANNES  SCHUYLER,  Schoharie. 

The  same  from  1755-1769.  Hackensack  and  Schralen- 
burgh. 

1742—1754.     JOHANNES  ARONDEUS,  Queens  county,  N.  Y. 

1744.  JOHANNES   RITZEMA,  New-York,  Emeritus,  1784,  died 

1796. 

1744-1756.  JOHANNES  CASPARUS  FREYENMOET,  Minisink  and  Wai- 
peck,  Sussex  county,  N.  J.,  from  1756-1772,  Smith- 
field  and  Mapakkemak,  N.  J.,  and  from  1756-1772, 
Kinderhook,  Claverack,  and  East  Camp. 

1745.  Church  at  Wawarsing,  Ulster  county,  organized. 
1746-1784.     ULPIANUS  VAN  SINDEREN,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 
1746-1756.     THEODORUS  FRELINGHUYSEN,  Albany. 


75 


1746.  The  church  at  Marbletown,  Ulster  county,  organized. 

1749-1753.     JOHN  FRELINGHUYSEN,  Raritan. 

1748-1783.     JOHANNES  LEIDT,  New-Brunswick,  N.  J. 

1748-1792.     BENJAMIN  VANDERLINDE,  Paramus,  N.  J. 

1749-1759.     BENJAMIN  MENEM  A,  Poughkeepsie  and  Fishkill. 

1751.  The  church  at  Shawangunk,  Ulster  county,  organized. 

1750-1779.     SAMUEL  VER  BRYCK,  Tappan. 

1756-1769.     E.  T.  VAN  HOEVENBERGH,  Bhinebeck  Flats. 

1751.  LAMBERTUS  DE  RONDE,  New- York,  Emeritus,  1784,  died 

1795. 

1752-1772.     DAVID  MARENUS,  Aquacknonk  and  Totowa. 
1753-1795.     JOHANNES  SCHUNEMAN,  Catskill  and  Coxsackie. 
1753-1761.     THOMAS  ROMEYN,  Queens  county,  L.  I. 

The  same,  from  1761-1771,  at  Minisink,  N.  J.,  and 
from  1771-1794,  at  Caghnawaga,  Montgomery 
county,  N.  Y. 

1754-1782.     BARENT  VROOMAN,  Schenectady. 
1 755-1 759.     JOHANNES  CASPARUS  RUBEL,  Red  Hook,  Dutchess  county, 

and  from  1759-1783,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 
1756-1757.     HENRICUS  FRELINGHUYSEN,  Wawarsing  and  Rochester, 

Ulster  county. 

1757-1789.     WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Bergen  and  Staten  Island. 
1757.  The  church    at    New-Hackensack,    Dutchess    county, 

formed. 

1756.  The  church  at  Hopewell,  Dutchess  county,  organized. 

1758-1781.     JACOB  R.  HARDENBERGH,  Raritan,  Bedminster,  etc.,  from 

1781-1786,  at   Marbletown   and   Rochester,  Ulster 

county,  and  from  1786-1790,  at  New-Brunswick,  N.  J. 
1760-1790.      EILARDUS  WESTERLO,  Albany. 
1760-1771.     JOHANNES    MAURITIUS   GOETSCHIUS,   Shawangunk   and 

New-Paltz,  Ulster  county. 
1761-1795.     JOHANNES  MARTINUS  VAN  HARLINGEN,  New-Shannick 

and  Sourland,  N.  J.,  now  TIarlingen. 

1762-1783.     JOHAN  DANIEL  COCK,  Rhinebeck  and  Red  Hook. 
1763-1775.     HERMANUS  MEIER,  Kingston,  from  1775^1791,  Pomp- 
ton  and  Totowa,  N.  J. 
1763-1774.     HENRICUS  SCHOONMAKER,  Poughkeepsie  and  Fishkill, 

from  1774-1816,  at  Aquackenonk,  N.  J. 
1764-1779.     ARCHIBALD  LAIDLIE,  New- York. 
1764-1794.     A.  ROSEKRANTZ,  Canajoharie  and  German  Flats. 
1763-1771.     JOHN  MICHAEL  KERN,  German  Reformed  Church,  N.  Y. 
1764-1816.     BENJAMIN  Du  Bois,  Freehold  and  Middletown. 


76 


1765-1789. 
1765-1785. 
1766-1774. 


1776-1772. 

1768. 

1769-1772. 

1770. 
1770-1810. 


1773-1810. 
1773-1776. 

1773-1785. 
1775-1778. 

1775-1796. 


1776-1826. 
1776-1809, 
1779-1781. 
1781-1786. 

1783-1787. 
1783-1789. 


1784. 

1785-1808. 
1785-1786. 


ISAAC  RYSDYCK,  Fishkill,  Hopewell,  and  Hackensack, 

Dutchess  county. 
MARTINUS  SCHOONMAKER,  Haerlem  and  Gravesend,  from 

1785-1824,  Kings  comity,  L.  I. 
THEODORICK  EOMEYN,  Marbletown  and  Eochestcr,  from 

1774-1781,  at  Hackensack  and  Schralenburgh,  and 

from  1781-1803,  at  Schenectady. 
HARMANUS  L.  BOELEN,  Queens  county,  L.  I. 
The  church  at  New-Hurley,  Ulster  county,  organized. 
WARMOLDUS  KUYPERS,  Ehinebeck  Flats,  from  1772- 

1795,  Hackensack  and  Schralenburgh. 
GERRIT  LYDEKKER,  English  Neighborhood,  N.  J. 
JOHN   H.    LIVINGSTON,    New-York,  from    1810-1825, 

President  of  Rutgers  College,  and  Professor  of  Theo- 


RYNIER  VAN  NEST,  settled  at  different  periods  at  Sha- 

wangunk,  Queens  county,  and  Schoharie. 
STEPHEN  VAN  VOORHIS,  Poughkeepsie,  from  1776-1784. 

Rhinebeck  Flats. 

The   churches   of   Cortlandtown,   Walpeck,   Oyster 
Bay,  Success,  Pompton,  Canajoharie,  and  Kakeat, 
were  all  organized  before  1771. 
ELIAS  VAN  BUNSCHOOTEN,  Scaghticoke,  from  1785-1813, 

Minisink. 
SOLOMON  FRELIGH,  Queens  county,  from  1778-1784, 

Millstone,  and  also  Fishkill,  from  1785-1826,  Hack 

ensack  and  Schralenburgh. 
STEPHEN  GOETSCHIUS,  New-Paltz  and  New-Hurley,  from 

1796-1815,  Marbletown,   from    1815-1832,  Saddle 

River  and  Pascack. 
JOHN  GABRIEL  GEBHARD,  Claverack. 
GEORGE  I.  L.  DOLL,  Kingston. 
MATHEW  LEIDT,  Belleville,  N.  J. 
NICHOLAS  LANSING,  Livingston  Manor,  1786-1831,  Tap- 

pan  and  Clarkstown. 

SIMEON  VAN  ARSDALEN,  North  Branch,  N.  J. 
ISAAC  BLAUVELT,  Fishkill,  afterwards  Paramus. 

Several  churches,  as  Saratoga,  Taghkanick,  Niskayu- 

na,  etc.,  organized  previous  to  1783. 
CORNELIUS  COZINE,  Conewago,  Adams  county,  Penn. 
WILLIAM  LINN,  New-York. 
THEODORE  F.  ROMEYN,  Raritan. 


1787-1799.     JOHN  DURYEE,  Raritan. 

1787-1794.     JOHN  M.  VAN  HARLINGEN,  Millstone  and  Six  Mile  Run. 

1787-1818.     PETER  LOWE,  Kings  county,  L.  I. 

1787-1820.     PETER  STEDDIFORD,  Readington  and  Bedminster. 

1787-1798.     PETER  DE  WITT,  Rhinebeck  Flats,  from  1799-1809, 

Ponds  and  Wyckoff,*N.  J. 
1787-1805.     JOHN  BASSETT,  Albany,  afterwards  from  1805,  first  at 

the  Bogt  and  then  at  Gravesend. 
1788-1798.     JAMES  V.  C.  ROMEYN,  Schodack  and  Greenbush,  from 

1 1798-1831,  Hackensack  and  Schralenburgh. 
1788-1817.     MOSES  FRELIGH,  Shawangunk  and  Wallkill. 
1786-1788.     GERARDUS  A.  KUYPERS,    Paramus,  from    1788-1833, 

New- York. 

1788-1790.     PETER  STRYKER,    N.   and   S.    Hampton,    Penn.,   from 
1790-1 794,  Staten  Island,  from  1796-1814,  Belleville. 
1790.  BRANDT  SCHUYLER  LUPTON,  (a  brief  ministry,)  Lansing- 

burgh  and  Wakeford. 

1789-1800.  ISAAC  LABAGH,  Kinderhook,  from  1800-1 82-,  first  at 
Canajoharie,  Sharon,  etc.,  and  then  at  the  German  Re 
formed  church,  N.  Y. 

1789-1795.  GEORGE  G.  BRINKERHOFF,  Conewago,  Adams  county, 
Penn.,  afterwards  at  Kakeat,  and  then  at  Owasco, 
Cayuga  county,  N.  Y. 

1789.  PETER  LEIDT,  (died  early,)  Ponds,  Kakeat,  Ramapo,N.  J. 

1789.  SAMUEL  SMITH,  Saratoga. 

1790-1805.     JOHN  DEMAREST,  Niskayuna  and  Boght,  afterwards  at 

tj|e  Ponds  and  Wyckoff,  N.  J. 
1790-1793.     ANDREW  GRAY,  Poughkeepsie. 
1790-1795.     ABRAHAM  VAN  HoRNE,Marbletown  and  Rochester,  from 

1796-1 83-,  Caghnawaga,  Montgomery  county. 

1791-1803.     JEREMIAH  ROMEYN,  Red  Hook  and  Linlithgow,  after 
wards  at  Haerlem. 
1791-1804.     NICHOLAS  VAN  VRANKEN,  Fishkill,  Hopewell,  and  New- 

Hackensack. 
1791-1805.     JOHN  F.  JACKSON,  Haerlem,  afterwards  at  Fordham. 

The  churches  at  Esopus  and  Ashokan  organized. 
1792-1800.     PETER  VAN  VLIERDEN,  Catskill  and  Saugerties. 
1793.  HARMANUS  VAN  HUYSEN,  Helderburgh,  Albany  county. 

1793-1807.  WIN  SLOW  PAIGE,  Scaghticoke,  afterwards  successively 
at  Florida,  Montgomery  county,  and  in  Schoharie 
county. 

1793-1830.     JOHN  CORNELISON,  Bergen. 
1793-1811.     IRA  CONDICT,  New-Brunswick. 


1794-1815.     ZECHARIAS  H.  KUYPERS,  Queens  comity,  L.  I.,  afterwards 

at  the  Ponds  and  Wyckoff,  N.  J. 
1794-1807.     CORNELIUS  BROUWER,  Poughkeepsie. 
1796-1800.     JACOB  SICKLES,  Coxsackie,  1801-183-,  Kinderhook. 

1796-1819.  JAMES  S.  CANNON,  Six  Mile  Run  and  Millstone,  after 
wards  Professor  in  Theological  Seminary,  New-Bruns 
wick.  (Died,  1852.) 

1794-1810.  STEPHEN  OSTRANDER,  Pompton,  afterwards  at  Bloom 
ing  Grove. 

1796-1815.     WILLIAM  R.  SMITH,  New-Shannick  and  Harlingen. 

1796-7.  PETER    LABAGH,  Missionary    to  Kentucky    Reformed 

Dutch  Church  in  Mercer  county,  organized,  from 
1798-1809,  Catskill,  from  1809-1848,  Harlingen, 
(still  living.) 

1796-1802.    JOHN  B.  JOHNSON,  Albany. 

1796.  THOMAS  ROMEYN,  Niskayuna  and  Amity — still  living. 

1797-1802.  GARRET  MANDEVILLE,  Rochester,  afterwards  at  Caro 
line,  Tompkins  county,  N.  Y. 

1797-1819.     JACOB  LARZILLERE,  N.  and  S.  Hampton,  Penn. 

1798-1805.  CHRISTIAN  BoRK,Schodack,  afterwards  in  Franklin  street. 
N.  Y.,  where  he  died,  1823. 

1799-1809.  HENRY  POLHEMUS,  Harlingen,  afterwards  at  English 
Neighborhood  and  Shawangunk. 

1799-1803.  JOHN  H.  MEIER,  New-Paltz,  afterwards  at  Schenec- 
tady. 

1799.  THOMAS  G.  SMITH,  Esopus,  afterwards  at  Tarrytown — 

died,  1835.  » 

1799-1803.     JOHN  BRODHEAD  ROMEYN,  Rhinebeck  Flats. 
1799-1840.     WILHELMUS  ELTING,  Paramus,  N.  J. 

This  list  is  not  furnished  as  complete.     There  are  doubtless  omis 
sions,  but  it  is  believed  not  of  any  permanently  settled  previous  to 

1800.  I  have  been  dependent  upon  materials  which  have  come 
to    my   hand    without    instituting    inquiries    from    the    particular 
churches.     It  has  been  difficult  in  some  cases  to  ascertain  the  precise 
commencement  of  the  ministry,  and  also  the  precise  duration.     In  this 
list  will  be  found  detailed  the  early  growth  and  succession  of  the 
churches  and  their  ministry,  so  as  to  give  information  on  these  points 
now  difficult  to  obtain,  on  account  of  the  deficiency  of  existing  sources 
within  the  reach  of  inquiry.     I  am  in  doubt  whether  John  L.  Zabriskie. 
afterwards  of  Millstone,  settled  at  Greenbush,  Rensselaer  county,  pre 
vious  to  1800,  or  not.     In  1800,  or  very  soon  afterwards,  John  P. 
Spinner  settled  at  Herkimer  and  German  Flats,  Philip  Duryee  at 


79 

Saratoga,  John  S.  Vredenburgh  at  Raritan,  Jacob  Schoonmaker  at 
Jamaica,  P.  I.  Van  Pelt  at  Staten  Island,  Henry  Ostrander  (now  at 
Kaatsbaan)  at  Catskill,  and  William  Manley  at  Cortland  town.  Soon 
afterwards,  from  1803  to  1805,  Rev.  Drs.  Brodhead  and  Westbrook, 
and  Rev.  Herman  Vedder  were  settled  in  the  Classis  of  Poughkeepsie, 
etc.  It  will  be  seen  that  of  the  ministers  settled  previous  to  1800, 
there  are  only  two  living,  Peter  Labagh  and  Thomas  Romeyn.  Of 
those  referred  to  as  settled  between  1800  and  1805,  out  of  the  nine 
four  are  living. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  above  list,  where  I  was  unable  to  ascertain 
the  precise  year  of  the  death,  or  the  close  of  the  ministry,  and  could 
only  approximate  to  it,  I  have  placed  it  within  a  certain  range,  as  be 
tween  twenty  and  thirty,  leaving  out  the  last  figure,  as  :  Abraham 
Van  Home  at  Caghnawaga,  1796-1 83-. 


[NOTE     F.] 

0f  %  fpWt  $W4  Cftttrtfc  in  171)0. 

[Page  42.] 

THE  following  is  extracted  from  the  close  of  the  sermon  preached 
by  Rev.  Dr.  LIVINGSTON,  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1790,  when  the  Mid 
dle  Church  was  reopened,  after  being  repaired  from  the  ruinous  state 
in  which  it  was  left  by  the  British  forces  during  the  Revolutionary 
War: 

"  To  these  gre^|t  purposes  this  building  was  formerly  devoted,  and 
for  these  important  ends  it  is  now  raised  from  its  ruins.  But  the 
mention  of  ruins,  calls  back  our  thoughts  to  past  scenes,  and  presents 
disagreeable  ideas  to  our  minds.  When  destruction  is  caused  by  the 
immediate  hand  of  Heaven,  by  earthquakes,  storms,  or  fire,  we  are 
silent  before  God,  and  dare  not  reply.  But  when  men  have  been  the 
instruments,  it  is  difficult,  although  proper,  to  look  up  to  the  over 
ruling  power,  and  forget  the  interposition  of  the  means.  I  dare  not 
speak  of  the  wanton  cruelty  of  those  who  destroyed  this  temple,  nor 
repeat  the  various  indignities  which  have  been  perpetrated.  It  would 
be  easy  to  mention,  facts  which  would  chill  your  blood !  A  recol 
lection  of  the  groans  of  dying  prisoners,  which  pierced  this  ceiling, 
or  the  sacrilegious  sports,  and  rough  feats  of  horsemanship  exhibited 
within  these  walls,  might  raise  sentiments  in  your  mind  that  would, 
perhaps,  not  harmonize  with  those  religious  affections  which  I  wish  at 
present  to  promote  and  always  to  cherish.  The  Lord  has  sufficiently 


80 


vindicated  our  cause,  and  avenged  us  of  those  who  rose  up  against  us. 
He  girded  our  Joshua  ,for  the  field,  and  led  him,  with  his  train  of 
heroes,  to  victory.  Heaven  directed  our  councils  and  wrought  deli 
verance.  Our  enemies  themselves  acknowledged  an  interposing  Pro 
vidence,  and  were  obliged  to  say,  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things 
for  them ;  while  we,  repeating  the  shout  of  praise,  The  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad.  Through  the  long 
avenue  of  danger  and  perplexity,  while  discouragements  like  dark 
clouds  are  hovering  all  around,  who  could  penetrate  the  gloom,  and 
foresee  that  God  would  soon  bring  order  out  of  confusion — so  soon 
dismiss  the  horrors  of  war,  and  grant  an  honorable  peace — perfect 
revolution  ?  Where  was  it  ever  seen,  excepting  only  in  Israel,  that 
God  took  a  nation  out  of  the  midst  of  another  nation,  with  such  a 
mighty  hand,  and  a  stretched-out  arm  ?  Who  could  have  predicted 
that  from  such  indigested  materials,  with  such  short  experience,  and 
within  so  few  years,  an  efficient,  liberal,  and  pervading  government 
would  have  been  formed?  A  station  and  rank  is  now  obtained 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  if  the  full  enjoyment  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty  is  a  constituent  part  of  social  happiness — if  the  pros 
pects  of  the  rising  importance,  strength,  and  greatness  of  our  new  em 
pire  are  of  any  weight  in  the  scale,  we  may  safely  pronounce  ourselves, 
as  this  day  to  be  the  happiest  nation  in  the  world.  A  nation  where 
all  the  rights  of  man  are  perfectly  secured.  Without  a  monarchy — 
without  hereditary  nobility,  and  without  an  hierarchy.  Hail,  happy 
land  !  A  land  of  liberty,  of  science,  and  religion  !  Here  an  undis 
turbed  freedom  in  worship,  forms  the  first  principle  of  an  equal 
government,  and  is  claimed  as  a  birthright — whic^  none  of  our  rul 
ers  dare  call  in  question,  or  control.  Here  no  sect  is  legally  preferred 
with  exclusive  prerogatives — the  chief  magistrate  worships  as  a  pri 
vate  citizen,  and  legislators,  by  their  influential  example,  not  by  penal 
laws,  prove  nursing  fathers  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  In  this  happy 
and  elevated  situation,  the  ruins  of  our  temples,  and  all  we  have  sus 
tained,  appear  a  price  too  small  to  mention.  We  are  more  than 
compensated.  We  have  forgiven,  and  we  forget  past  injuries.  God 
has  abundantly  made  up  for  all  our  former  griefs.  When  the  Lord 
turned  again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were  like  them  that  dream. 
Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our  tongue  with  sing 
ing.  We  are  a  happy  people ;  we  feel  and  know  that  we  are  so. 
The  labors  of  the  husbandman  prosper,  and  there  is  plenty  in  all  our 
borders.  Commerce  is  enlarged,  and  public  credit  established.  The 
education  of  youth  is  universally  patronized,  and  there  is  no  com 
plaining  in  our  streets.  In  safety  we  sit — every  man  under  his  own 


81 

vine  and  fig-tree,  and  there  are  none  to  make  us  afraid.  With  suffi 
cient  room  to  accommodate  nations,  and  a  government  adequate  to 
all  the  important  purposes  of  society,  we  are  not  only  at  ease  our 
selves,  but  extend  our  arms,  and  cordially  invite  an  oppressed  world 
to  come  under  our  shade  and  share  in  our  happiness.  Happy  is  that 
people  that  is  in  such  a  case  !  Yea,  happy  is  that  people  whose  God 
is  the  Lord !  Whether  we  shall  continue  thus  happy,  will  greatly 
depend  upon  our  wisdom  and  justice,  our  industry  and  manners,  but 
principally  upon  our  faithfully  recording  the  name  of  our  Lord.  Ac 
cording  to  the  measure  in  which  the  religion  of  the  blessed  Jesus  is 
honored,  and  prevails,  our  land  will  be  truly  happy  and  our  liberty 
secure.  This  holy  religion  establishes  the  purest  morality,  and  incul 
cates  the  reciprocal  obligations  which  members  of  society  are  under 
to  each  other.  It  engages  men  of  all  ranks,  by  the  highest  sanctions, 
conscientiously  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  their  stations,  and  it  is  without 
controversy  the  surest  pledge  of  divine  protection.  The  maintenance 
of  this,  in  its  purity,  will  most  effectually  establish  our  invaluable 
blessings,  and  as  this  declines,  our  ruin  will  hasten.  See  the  rule  of 
Providence  with  respect  to  nations.  (Jer.  18:9, 10.)  "At  what  in 
stant  I  shall  speak  concerning  a  nation,  and  concerning  a  kingdom,  to 
build  and  to  plant.  And  if  it  do  evil  in  my  sight,  that  it  obey  not  my 
voice,  then  I  will  repent  of  the  good  wherewith  I  said  I  would  benefit 
them."  While  others,  at  our  political  anniversary,  in  their  animated 
orations  employ  all  the  powers  of  eloquence  to  confirm  your  love  of 
liberty,  and  by  enraptured  views  of  civil  blessings,  touch  with  trans, 
port  all  the  springs  of  life ;  I  desire  with  plainness  of  speech,  but  with 
a  zeal  becoming  *a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  to  raise  your  views  to 
Heaven,  and  persuade  you  wisely  to  improve  your  precious  privileges. 
Seven  years  are  not  elapsed  since  we  returned  to  this  city  in  peace. 
And  lo !  in  less  than  seven  years,  two  ruined  churches  have  been  by 
us  repaired.  The  Lord  hath  strengthened  our  hands,  and  given  suc 
cess  to  our  efforts.  Let  a  humble  sense  of  our  dependence  upon  Him, 
and  recollection  of  his  numerous  mercies,  call  forth  lively  gratitude 
upon  this  occasion.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  and  all  that  is  with 
in  me,  bless  his  holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  and  forget 
not  all  his  benefits.  It  is,  my  brethren,  a  circumstance  which,  upon 
our  part,  is  altogether  fortuitous,  but  it  deserves  your  notice  that,  in 
the  direction  of  Providence,  you  have  more  than  one  object  upon  this 
memorable  Fourth  of  July  that  claims  your  attention.  While  you 
glow  with  patriotic  ardor  for  your  country,  and  pour  out  fervent 
prayers  for  its  rising  honor  and  happiness,  you  are  also  exulting  that 
the  gates  of  this  house  are  again  opened  to  you.  Enter  into  His  gates 
6 


82 

with  thanksgiving,  and  into  his  courts  with  praise  ;  be  thankful  unto 
him,  and  bless  his  name.  With  ardent  prayers  and  solemn  vows, 
I  know  you  now  unite  with  me  in  this  solemn  exercise,  and  may  your 
ardent  prayers  and  solemn  vows  be  ratified  in  heaven.  But  suffer 
me  in  faithfulness  to  warn  you  against  the  deceitfulness  of  your  hearts 
towards  God,  and  to  charge  you  to  mingle  a  holy  fear  and  trembling, 
this  day,  with  our  rejoicings.  Remember  Shiloh,  remember  what 
has  already  befallen  this  house,  and  never  forget  that  you  have  to  do 
with  a  holy  God,  who  is  jealous  for  his  honor  and  worship.  Holiness 
becometh  the  house  of  God  forever,  and  all  who  name  the  name  of 
Christ,  must  depart  from  iniquity.  Keep  therefore  thy  foot  when  thou 
goest  to  the  house  of  God,  and  be  more  ready  to  hear,  than  to  give 
the  sacrifice  of  fools.  When  thou  vowest  a  vow  unto  God,  defer 
not  to  pay  it,  for  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  fools.  Pay  that  which  thou 
hast  vowed.  With  what  humble  awe  and  pious  reverence  should 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  engage  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  1  Upon 
us,  my  venerable  and  respected  brethren  and  colleagues,  a  new  bur 
then  is  this  day  laid — to  us  a  new  door  is  opened !  I  congratulate 
you  on  this  auspicious  occasion,  and  hope  we  may  view  it  as  a  token 
for  good  from  the  Lord.  Let  it  encourage  us  to  persevere,  and  be 
come  more  faithful  in  preaching  a  crucified  Jesus,  and  inciting  this 
people  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  But  where  is  our 
Laidlie  ?  Where  is  now  that  bold  herald  of  the  Gospel,  who  feared 
not  the  face  of  man,  nor  courted  the  applause  of  fellow-worms  1  He 
spoke  with  authority,  and  what  flowed  from  his  heart,  reached  the 
hearts  of  others.  How  often  from  these  heights  of  Zion,  have  his 
words  trembled,  and  saints  rejoiced.  But  he  is  gone,  and  rests  from 
his  labors.  His  name  still  survives,  and  he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh. 
Excuse  this  tribute  of  affection,  forgive  this  tear  which  I  owe  to  the 
memory  of  a  man  who  was  once  so  dear  to  me,  as  a  fellow-laborer  in 
this  house,  and  whose  ministry  was  highly  acceptable,  and  greatly 
blessed  to  the  people." 


[NOTE    G.] 

Ctettg  at  t\t  pflrtrle  Ctolr  0n  pssau  Start,  in  1M4, 

BETWEEN  LIBERTY  AND  CEDAR  STREETS. 
[Page  53.] 

THE  encroachments  of  commerce  having  gradually  driven  the  in 
habitants  from  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  the  Consistory  with  great 


83 

reluctance  came  to  the  decision  that  it  was  no  longer  expedient  to 
continue  divine  service  in  this  Church.  The  building,  after  an  occu 
pancy  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years,  was  used  as  a  place  of  wor 
ship  for  the  last  time  in  the  evening  of  August  11,  1844.  The 
occasion  brought  together  an  immense  congregation,  from  the  city  and 
adjacent  country,  of  persons  whose  cherished  associations  rendered  it 
to  them  interesting  and  touching. 

A  discourse  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Knox,  the  senior  pastor 
of  the  church,  from  the  appropriate  passage,  John  4  :  20-24  :  "  Our 
fathers  worshipped  in  this  mountain,"  etc. 

In  the  close  of  his  discourse,  a  great  object  of  which  was  to  show 
that  no  place  is  intrinsically  holy,  and  that  every  place  is  appropriate 
to  the  divine  service,  he  took  occasion  to  remark :  "  Nevertheless, 
there  is  a  world  of  sentiment  in  the  thought,  Our  fathers  worshipped 
in  this  mountain.  The  feeling  of  hallowed,  affectionate  attachment 
to  this  place,  where  we  and  our  fathers  worshipped  and  held  commu 
nion  with  God  and  with  each  other,  and  which  at  this  moment  has  a 
deep  lodgment  in  the  hearts  of  this  assembled  multitude,  is  to  be 
revered.  It  is  not  the  affectation  of  sentimentality. 

"  There  is  not  a  spot  in  this  great  city,  perhaps  not  in  our  land, 
aronnd  which  so  many  fond  and  hallowed  associations  cluster,  as  the 
spot  on  which  we  are  now  assembled.  This  building  has  stood  dur 
ing  successive  ages,  and  is  at  present  the  oldest  church  edifice  in  the 
city.  The  site  on  which  it  stands  was  purchased  in  1726,  and  it  was 
opened  for  worship  in  1729.  Here,  from  generation  to  generation, 
our  fathers  worshipped  in  the  great  congregation.  Among  them  were 
the  founders  of  the  city's  greatness — men  high  in  intellect,  high  in 
civil  and  social  station,  devoted  in  heart,  and  venerable  in  all  that 
adorns  the  character  of  man.  Here  they  and  their  children  received 
the  sacred  initiatory  rite — the  seal  of  God's  covenant.  Here  the 
voice  of  praise  and  the  incense  of  prayer  have  ascended,  and  the  ser 
vants  of  Christ  from  age  to  age  have  surrounded  the  table  of  his  love, 
and  in  communion  with  him  their  hearts  have  glowed  with  a  fervor  as 
pure  as  mortals  ever  feel.  Here  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed 
God  has  been  faithfully  preached  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
God  has  given  testimony  to  the  word  of  his  grace.  Multitudes  have 
been  brought  out  of  darkness  into  light,  and  from  the  bondage  of  sin 
into  the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  Multitudes  now  in  glory,  have 
under  the  culture  of  the  divine  hand,  been  edified  in  faith,  holiness, 
and  consolation,  and  rendered  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  saints  in 
light.  Here  a  long  succession  of  ambassadors  of  Christ,  gifted  and 
honored,  have  bestowed  the  labors  of  their  lives. 


84 


"  Of  the  pastors  of  this  church  who  have  entered  into  rest,  many 
were  eminent,  and  every  one  of  them,  by  the  endowments  of  Him  who 
hath  received  gifts  for  men,  possessed  some  characteristic  excellence. 
Those  of  them  who  have  rendered  their  service  in  the  English  tongue 
are,  Drs.  Laidlie,  Livingston,  Linn,  Kuypers,  Abeel,  Schureman,  and 
Mr.  Strong.  Of  former  pastors,  two  still  survive,  who  have  been  re 
moved  from  this  church  by  a  transfer  of  their  services  to  other  fields 
of  labor.* 

"  By  many  an  association  is  this  place  endeared  to  many  a  heart. 
On  the  very  spot  where  he  now  stands,  he  who  now  addresses  you, 
more  than  twenty-eight  years  ago,  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  by 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  and  here  the  ministerial 
labors  of  his  life  have  been  bestowed.  Many  of  the  deepest,  dearest, 
most  indelible  impressions  of  his  heart  are  connected  with  reminis 
cences  of  this  place. 

"  From  such  a  spot,  less  than  the  force  of  uncontrollable  circum 
stances  could  not  have  induced  the  consent  to  remove.  And  I  know 
that  by  all  most  interested,  whether  in  Consistory  or  out  of  it,  this 
point  has  been  reached  only  step  by  step,  and  with  constant  reluctance. 
Were  feeling  alone  the  guide  in  duty,  it  never  would  have  been 
reached  at  all.  For  a  long  period  of  time,  however,  we  have  felt  the 
gradual  and  growing  encroachments  of  commerce.  From  year  to 
year  the  people  have  been  resigning  their  accustomed  residences  in 
this  vicinity,  and  removing  to  places  distant  from  it.  It  having  be 
come  manifestly  necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  the  Church  in  its 
vigor,  the  Consistory,  some  years  ago,  were  constrained  to  follow  the 
people  with  their  accustomed  means  of  grace,  and  to  provide  for  their 
accommodation  in  another  part  of  the  city,  f 

"At  length  this  large  and  commodious  edifice,  formerly  constantly 
crowded  with  worshippers,  became  almost  deserted ;  and  the  convic 
tion  was  forced  upon  all,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  that  duty  no 
longer  required  the  endeavor  to  maintain  the  public  ordinances  within 
its  walls. 

"  Our  fellow-Christians  of  no  less  than  nine  different  denominations 
around  us,  urged  by  like  uncontrollable  necessity,  have  been  coerced 
into  a  like  decision,  namely,  the  German  Reformed  and  Associate 
Churches,  on  Nassau  street ;  the  French  Church,  on  Pine  street ;  the 
two  Presbyterian  Churches,  on  Cedar  street;  the  Wall-Street  Church, 
and  the  Murray-Street  Church;  the  Dutch  Church,  on  Exchange 

*  Drs.  Milledoler  and  Brodhead,  both  since  deceased. 

f  The  Church  on  La  Fayette  Place  was  opened  for  worship  May  9,  1839. 


85 

Place;  the  Reformed  Church,  on  Chambers  street;  the  Baptist. 
Church,  on  Gold  street,  and  Grace  Church,  on  Broadway,  and  the  Mo 
ravian  Church,  in  Fulton  street,  are  at  this  time  in  process  of  re 
moval.* 

"  Our  own  case  is  exempt  from  some  of  the  embarrassments  with 
which  our  neighbors  have  had  to  contend.  We  have  other  churches, 
one  of  them  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  where  the  same  ministrations 
are  found,  and  where  accommodations  ample  and  convenient  may  be 
secured  by  all  who  hitherto  have  worshipped  here. 

"An  opportunity  of  appropriating  this  building,  with  as  little  vio 
lence  to  feeling  as  could  have  been  anticipated,  has  occurred. f 

"  The  vaults  around,  wherein  reposes  the  precious  dust  of  the  hon 
ored  dead,  are  secured  from  invasion,  and  are  at  the  control  of  those 
who  feel  the  deepest  interest  in  their  sacred  contents. 

"  We  now  bid  adieu  to  this  place,  endeared  by  more  than  a  cen 
tury's  fond  associations.  It  is  a  moment  and  an  occasion  of  melan 
choly  sadness.  But  our  God  is  not  a  God  of  the  hills  or  of  the  valleys — 
of  this  place  or  that  place  alone — no  mere  local  Deity.  We  bow  to 
his  will,  indicated  by  his  providence,  and  cherish  the  hope  that  his 
gracious  presence,  here  vouchsafed  so  long  with  us  and  our  fathers, 
will  also  elsewhere  be  with  us  and  our  children  still. 

"  I  honor  the  feelings  which  linger  around  a  spot  like  this,  and 
would  have  them  only  guarded  against  a  superstitious  homage  :  and 
that  an  event  brought  about  by  no  stranger  or  wanton  hand,  and 
painful  to  all,  may  be  met  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  acquiescence,  and 
leave  no  feeling  of  alienation  in  the  minds  of  any." 

After  the  discourse,  a  brief  address  was  made  by  Dr.  De  Witt,  and 
the  service  closed  by  him  with  pronouncing  the  apostolic  benediction 
in  the  Dutch  language. 

*  Since  the  Middle  Church  was  closed,  the  following  list  of  churches  have 
been  transferred  from  the  lower  to  the  upper  parts  of  the  city:  the  African  Church, 
(formerly  German  Lutheran,)  from  Frankfort  street;  St.  George's,  Episcopal,  from 
Beekman  street ;  the  Dutch  churches  of  Murray  and  Franklin  streets ;  the  Metho 
dist  Church  of  Vestry  street;  and  the  Duane  Street  and  Brick  Presbyterian 
churches. 

\  It  had  been  leased  to  the  United  States  Government  for  a  Post-Office. 


86 
[NOTE    II.] 

<g  *  n  u  a  1    $1  e  m  a :  r  l\  s . 

[Page  £6.] 

THE  number  of  churches  of  our  denomination  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  is  referred  to  in  the  Discourse,  as  being  nineteen,  exclusive  of 
the  Collegiate.  I  had  partially  designed  to  give  a  list  of  them  in  their 
chronological  order,  with  the  succession  of  their  ministries.  But  as 
this  is  not  within  the  particular  object  of  the  discourse  and  pamphlet, 
and  if  fulfilled,  might  have  led  to  the  suggestion  that  it  should  have 
extended  further,  the  design  has  been  relinquished.  After  1800,  with 
the  disuse  of  the  Dutch  language  through  our  churches,  and  the  or 
ganization  of  our  literary  and  theological  seminaries,  the  Church 
assumed  an  attitude  favorable  to  more  vigorous  exertion  and  more 
rapid  enlargement.  From  1797  we  have  the  regularly  published 
Minutes  of  the  General  Synod  to  the  present  time,  giving  the  statis 
tics  of  the  churches  and  the  list  of  its  ministers  from  year  to  year, 
and  marking  the  progress  made.  It  is  gratifying  to  perceive  that  the 
progress  has  become  greatly  accelerated  of  late  years.  During  the 
ten  years  between  1846  and  1856,  the  number  of  ministers  increased 
from  280  to  368,  and  the  number  of  churches  from  271  to  386.  This 
386  is  the  number  of  churches  given  in  the  statistical  reports  pub 
lished  in  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Synod  of  this  year.  But  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions  has  made  a  more  full 
and  complete  enumeration,  and  makes  the  number  397,  as  given  in 
the  report  of  that  Board  for  this  year.  For  a  view  of  the  history, 
the  character,  the  present  condition,  and  prospects  of  the  Church,  we 
again  call  attention  to  the  volume  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dema- 
rest  of  Hudson,  and  already  referred  to  in  Note  A  of  the  Appendix. 
It  is  to  be  desired  that  every  family  in  our  congregations  may  possess 
a  copy.  The  Board  of  Publication  have  also  done  a  good  work  in 
publishing  Gunn's  Life  of  Dr.  Livingston,  condensed  and  improved 
with  valuable  notes,  and  also  the  sermons  of  the  elder  Domine  Fre- 
linghuysen,  translated  from  the  Dutch,  by  Rev.  W.  Demarest,  of 
Boundbrook,  N.  J. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  attention  was  not  paid  at  an  earlier  period 
to  the  collection  and  preservation  of  materials  for  the  history  of 
our  churches,  before  the  direct  and  authentic  traditions  were  lost. 
The  Consistorial  minutes  of  the  old  churches,  kept  in  the  Dutch  lan 
guage,  were  generally  without  regularity,  and  give  but  little  informa 
tion,  except  to  trace  the  line  of  the  ministry.  The  manuscripts  of  the 


87 

pastors  and  others,  in  that  language,  have  very  generally  not  been 
preserved,  but,  not  valued,  have  been  lost  or  destroyed.  Still  it  is 
important  to  trace  all  the  avenues  of  information,  and  fill  up  the  his 
tory  of  our  churches.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor,  of  Bergen,  N.  J.,  has 
recently,  at  the  instance  of  the  Classis,  prepared  a  history  of  all  the 
churches  of  the  Classis  of  Bergen,  and  of  those  attached  to  the  ori 
ginal  Classis  of  Hackensack.  It  is  proposed  to  issue  the  volume  in 
a  short  time.  He  has  examined  the  different  ecclesiastical  records, 
and  gleaned  information  from  other  sources,  in  the  preparation  of  this 
work. 

In  the  catalogue  of  the  earliest  ministers  of  our  Church  we  might 
have  added  some  of  the  earliest  pastors  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church  in  Pennsylvania,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  corresponding  with 
ministers  of  our  Church.  The  first  German  settlements  in  Pennsyl 
vania  were  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  and  for  a  period 
mainly  consisted  of  those  of  the  Reformed  faith.  As  early  as  1728, 
a  mission  was  sent  to  Holland  to  seek  aid  there  in  pecuniary  contri 
butions,  and  an  increased  supply  of  ministers.  The  request  was  at 
once  met,  and  the  Synods  of  North  and  South-Holland  took  the 
churches  under  patronage  and  supervision  and  took  measures  to  give 
them  liberal  pecuniary  aid  and  to  seek  out  and  train  ministers  for  that 
field.  About  this  time  an  interesting  scene  took  place.  While  the 
Synod  of  South-Holland  was  in  session  at  Dordrecht,  a  large  number 
of  pious  Protestants  of  the  Reformed  faith  fleeing  from  persecution 
in  the  Palatinate,  were  passing  the  place  on  their  way  to  America, 
poor  in  worldly  goods  but  rich  in  the  supply  of  the  word  of  God,  and 
the  Catechisms,  etc.  The  Synod  had  interesting  interviews  with  them, 
supplied  their  present  temporal  wants,  and  pledged  their  future  con 
tinued  care  over  the  churches  formed,  and  to  be  formed  in  America. 
That  pledge  was  faithfully  and  liberally  redeemed.  Yearly  contribu 
tions  to  their  churches  and  schools  were  made,  and  a  watchful  care 
for  the  procurement  of  additional  ministers  was  exercised.  A  few 
years  before  the  middle  of  the  last  century  a  regular  Coetus  was 
formed,  which  sent  the  minutes  of  their  annual  meetings  to  the  Synod 
of  North-Holland,  submitting  their  proceedings  to  their  supervision. 
It  was  not  till  1785  or  6  that  this  connection  with  the  Church  of  Hol 
land  ceased,  and  an  independent  judicatory  in  the  General  Synod  of 
the  German  Reformed  Church  here  was  formed.  Some  of  the  ear 
liest  ministers  of  that  Church,  as  Boehm,  Weis,  etc.,  were  in  intimate 
association  and  correspondence  with  the  ministers  of  our  Church 
here.  There  was  one  at  a  period  a  little  later,  in  the  German  Re 
formed  Church,  deserving  to  be  held  in  remembrance  by  us,  the  Rev. 
G.  H.  DORSIUS.  of  N.  and  S.  Hampton,  Bucks  county,  Pa.  He  was 


88 


the  intimate  friend  of  the  elder  Frelinghuysen,  they  having  been 
acquainted  before  their  removal  to  America.  He  was  the  corre 
spondent  of  Freeman  and  others  of  our  ministers.  He  was  a  man  of 
learning,  and  a  faithful  and  able  evangelical  preacher.  The  Rev.  J. 
II.  Goetschius,  and  one  or  two  of  the  sons  of  Domine  Frelinghuysen 
studied  under  him.  W.  Jackson,  Thomas  Romeyn,  J.  R.  Hardenbergh, 
Samuel  Verbryck,  etc.,  studied  under  the  Frelinghuysens,  father  and 
son,  and  partly  under  Domine  Goetschius.  Theodorick  Romeyn  and 
some  others  studied  under  Domine  Goetschius.  These  all  proved 
workmen  "  that  need  not  be  ashamed,"  in  the  ability  and  success  with 
which  they  prosecuted  their  labors.  Their  preaching  was  character 
ized  by  soundness  of  doctrine  and  a  discriminating  and  pungent  ap 
plication  to  the  conscience  and  heart.  A  reference  is  made  to  Dor- 
sius,  as  deserving  of  remembrance,  while  his  name  is  now  forgotten 
among  us.  His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dubois,  who,  although 
connected  with  the  German  Reformed  Coetus  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
in  constant  intercourse  with  the  ministers  of  our  Church.  Since  the 
adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Union,  in  1771,  the  church  has  been  in 
regular  connection  with  our  Synod,  and  is  now  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  Rev.  A.  O.  Halsey.  With  this  single  reminiscence  of  the 
olden  time  of  our  Church,  we  must  rest  content. 

The  memory  of  the  past,  the  position  in  which  the  providence  of 
God  now  places  us,  and  all  the  motives  derived  from  faith  in  God's 
word,  and  love  to  Christ  and  his  cause,  should  stimulate  us  to  united, 
unceasing,  and  persevering  exertion.  Let  the  motto  handed  down  to 
us,  "Eendragt  maakt magt"  (union  creates  strength,)  be  engraved  on 
our  banners,  and  lodged  in  our  hearts,  and  then  let  us  enlist  under  the 
common  banner  of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  with  the  tribes  of 
Israel.  The  word  eendragt,  which  we  translate  union,  is  a  compound 
one,  literally  signifying  one  pull.  So  let  it  be  "  A  LONG  PULL,  A 

STRONG  PULL,  AND  A  PULL  ALTOGETHER." 


iesrri}rtj0tt  of 


OF  THE 

MIDDLE     EEFORMED    DUTCH    CHURCH     OK    LAFAYETTE     PLACE. 
By  S.  A.   Warner. 

IT  is  a  substantial  and  elegant  structure,  based  in  its  design  upon  ancient 
examples  of  Athenian  architecture,  and  not  surpassed,  in  its  classic  beauty 
and  purity  of  style,  by  any  edifice  of  the  Grecian  school  yet  erected  in  our 


THE      MIDDLE      DITCH      CHURCH,      ON      LA   FAYKTTK      PLACE, 
DEDICATED       MAY      !»,      1S39. 


89 


city.  Its  form  is  that  of  a  parallelogram,  75  feet  in  width.  Its  extreme 
length,  including  the  front  portico  and  a  projection  in  the  rear,  occupied  by 
the  pulpit  and  robing  rooms,  is  120  feet.  Its  exterior  is  of  granite,  of  a 
light  grayish  color.  The  style  adopted  for  the  main  building  is  the  Ionic, 
of  the  highly -wrought  and  elegant  description  found  in  the  temple  of  Erec- 
theus  at  Athens,  The  front  presents  an  octastyle  portico,  surmounted  by 
an  angular  pediment,  including  in  its  range  the  entire  width  of  the  front, 
and  raised  upon  an  elevated  platform.  It  is  approached  by  four  granite 
steps,  which  embrace  the  entire  front  and  sides  of  the  portico,  and  terminate 
against  buttresses  placed  in  range  with  the  antaa  at  the  external  angles.  An 
inner  row  of  columns,  four  in  number,  are  elevated  two  additional  steps,  a 
break  being  thus  formed  in  the  floor  of  the  portico.  All  the  angles  termi 
nate  with  antae,  having  moulded  bases  and  capitals  of  characteristic  design, 
and  continued  on  the  sides  to  a  line  with  the  base  of  the  tower.  The  bases 
are  continued  the  whole  length  of  the  external  front  walls.  All  the  columns, 
twelve  in  number,  are  worthy  of  note  for  having  the  shafts  in  a  single  piece 
of  granite  each,  there  being  but  few  of  equal  dimensions  now  standing  that 
are  not  laid  up  in  sections.  They  are  of  magnificent  proportions,  handsome 
ly  fluted,  their  bases  finely  moulded,  and  the  capitals  well  executed,  the 
neckings  carved  and  enriched  with  the  Grecian  honeysuckle.  The  mould 
ings  in  the  cornices  and  entablatures  are  carved,  and  continued  unbroken 
around  the  entire  building,  and  along  the  sides  the  eaves  are  ornamented 
antifixia,  in  imitation  of  the  termination  of  Grecian  tiles,  all  cast  in  a  metal 
lic  composition. 

Five  windows  on  either  side  of  the  building  serve  to  light  the  interior,  four 
of  which  open  into  the  audience  room,  the  others  into  the  vestibule  and  stair 
ways  leading  to  the  galleries.  All  are  in  a  single  length,  and  finished  externally 
with  Grecian  architraves,  sills,  and  cornices,  sustained  by  consoles.  A 
spacious  area,  extending  along  each  side  of  the  building,  sunk  to  a  level  with 
the  basement  floor,  gives  light  and  access  to  the  basement.  A  steeple, 
placed  upon  a  building  of  Grecian  or  Roman  design,  presents  an  incongruity 
not  reconcilable  to  correct  principles  of  taste  ;  yet  custom  renders  such  an 
appendage  so  necessary  a  feature  in  Christian  architecture,  that  its  omission, 
however  elegant  a  building  might  be  in  other  respects,  would  hardly  be 
tolerated.  The  prevailing  lines  being  horizontal,  great  difficulty  occurs  in 
making  them  assimilate  to  the  vertical  lines  of  the  steeple,  yet  long  estab 
lished  usage  requires  this  sacrifice  of  lineal  harmony. 

In  the  instance  before  us,  the  principal  compartment  consists  of  a  circular 
temple,  modelled  after  the  choragic  monument  of  Lysicrates,  resting  on  an 
elevated  octangular  basement,  and  having  eight  columns  with  richly  carved 
capitals.  The  entablature  has  an  architrave  subdivided  into  three  facia,  a 
plain  frieze,  and  a  dentiled  cornice,  surmounted  by  the  Grecian  scroll. 
Within  the  temple  is  placed  a  bell,  and  between  the  columns  stationary 
blinds  are  placed  for  the  egress  of  sound.  From  the  top  of  the  temple 
springs  a  spire  of  very  fine  proportions,  of  octagonal  form,  having  foliated 
terminations,  and  sustaining  a  ball  and  weather-vane.  The  spire  and  temple 
are  timber-framed,  and  covered  with  a  sheathing  of  galvanized  iron. 


90 


The  roof  of  the  main  building  is  in  a  single  span,  sustaining  itself  with 
out  the  aid  of  columns,  heavily  timbered  and  of  novel  construction,  and 
covered  externally  with  copper. 

The  interior  is  approached  by  five  door- ways,  under  the  portico,  all  hav 
ing  neatly  moulded  architraves  and  cornices,  three  of  which  lead  to  the 
main  audience  room,  and  open  into  a  spacious  lobby.  The  remaining  two 
open  each  into  a  vestibule  containing  the  stair-cases  leading  to  the  galleries. 
The  main  room  is  68  by  70  feet,  arranged  with  aisles  of  ample  width,  and 
pews  of  good  dimensions,  all  finely  carpeted  and  cushioned,  placed  in  circu 
lar  form,  the  ends  having  handsome  scrolls,  and  the  tops  of  the  panelings 
and  partitions  with  moulded  rails,  all  of  mahogany.  There  are  seats  for 
about  fifteen  hundred  persons.  Galleries  extend  around  three  sides  of  the 
interior,  supported  by  delicate  iron  columns,  and  are  fitted  with  well-ar 
ranged  pews,  with  sittings  for  about  five  hundred  persons.  At  the  easterly 
end,  in  a  recess  projected  over  the  lobby,  stands  the  organ,  a  purely- toned 
instrument,  of  beautiful  design  and  execution,  twenty-five  feet  in  width, 
and  on  either  side,  separated  from  it  by  narrow  aisles  and  railings,  are  seats 
for  the  Sunday-school  children.  The  ceiling  over  the  organ-gallery  is 
arched,  and  handsomely  panelled  and  enriched.  At  the  westerly  end  is  the 
pulpit,  placed  in  a  recess,  projected  beyond  the  body  of  the  building,  and 
containing  besides,  the  clergyman's  robing  and  retiring  rooms.  The  angles 
and  front  are  decorated  with  pilasters,  standing  on  a  sub-basement  of  marble, 
on  which  also  stands  the  pulpit.  The  ceiling  is  curved,  and  handsomely  re 
lieved  by  enriched  panelings  and  other  appropriate  ornamental  work.  The 
pulpit  is  of  statuary  marble,  of  a  pure  white,  and  designed  in  a  style  of 
chasteness  and  simplicity.  The  ceiling  over  it  contains  a  sky-light,  glazed 
with  stained  glass,  of  neat  design,  and  of  subdued,  unpretending  colors. 
On  each  side  of  the  pulpit  stands  a  candelabrum  of  fine  Grecian  design, 
beautifully  executed,  finished  in  artistic  bronze,  sustaining  a  single  globe, 
and  lit  with  gas.  A  full  entablature,  having  a  dentiled  cornice,  is  carried 
around  the  interior,  and  from  it  springs  the  ceiling  in  the  form  of  a  dome, 
but  slightly  elevated,  and  divided  into  radiating  panels,  all  the  compartments 
and  spandrils  being  deeply  sunk,  and  finished  with  enriched  mouldings  and 
ornamented  work,  and  so  arranged  with  openings  disguised  by  the  panel 
ings,  as  to  give  sufficient  ventilation  to  the  entire  interior. 

Originally,  there  stood  in  the  recesses  containing  the  organ-gallery  and 
pulpit,  Corinthian  columns  supporting  the  interior  entablature ;  also,  in  the 
organ-gallery,  piers  of  stuccoed  brick,  sustaining  a  portion  of  the  steeple. 
During  the  year  1855  the  church  was  closed  for  repairs,  when  the  removal 
of  the  columns  and  piers  was  resolved  upon  and  carried  into  effect.  Iron 
columns,  of  slender  diameter,  but  sufficient  strength,  were  substituted  for 
the  piers  required  for  support.  Iron  lintels  and  beams  were  also  introduced 
where  strength  was  needed ;  and  although  to  undermine  and  sustain  so 
weighty  a  structure  as  the  entire  steeple,  might  be  considered  a  difficult 
operation,  it  was,  by  the  application  of  mechanical  skill  and  ingenuity,  safely 
accomplished,  and  however  requisite  the  presence  of  the  cumbrous  columns 
may  once  have  appeared,  the  enlarged  capacity  and  increased  convenience 


r"73      "TCHURCH    ON    FIFTH     AVEJiUK     AND    29T1I    STREET.      PRPTCATED    OCTOBER    llTH,    1854. 


91 


of  the  interior,  give  any  thing  but  reason  to  regret  their  removal.  The 
once  cramped  and  confined  vicinity  of  the  pulpit  has  now  an  air  of  spa 
ciousness  and  freedom,  and  the  voluminous  sounds  of  the  music  contrast 
favorably  with  its  former  subdued  and  unrevealed  tunes.  The  organ  .was 
also  rearranged,  and  its  now  splendid  front  erected  and  so  contrived  as  to 
inclose  and  hide  the  iron  columns  which  sustain  the  steeple.  Few  churches 
of  similar  style  can  boast  of  a  finer  or  more  effective  interior. 

The  basement  contains  a  lecture-room,  Sunday-school  room,  also  others 
for  business  purposes  connected  with  the  church.  It  is  handsomely  finished 
and  fitted  up  throughout,  and  is  made  accessible  by  staircases  from  within 
and  granite  steps  from  without.  In  it  are  also  located  furnaces  by  which 
the  entire  building  is  warmed.  Vaults  are  constructed  under  the  front 
steps  and  portico,  which  afford  ample  room  for  fuel. 

A  yard,  thirty-six  feet  in  width,  extends  along  the  northerly  side  of  the 
church,  beneath  which  are  burial-vaults  to  the  number  of  thirty-four,  each 
indicated  by  a  stone  slab,  marked  with  its  proprietor's  name,  and  entered 
by  the  removal  of  its  earthy  covering  and  a  stone  which  closes  the  aperture 
in  the  arch. 

The  yard  is  well  cared  for,  being  tastily  laid  out  in  walks  and  flower-beds, 
and  handsomely  ornamented  with  rose  bushes,  and  shrubbery — like  frail  and 
tender  memorials  of  those  who  sleep  in  the  dark,  quiet  recesses  below. 


of  the  JLrrHtectttu 

OF   THE 

REFORMED    DUTCH    CHURCH,    CORNER    OF   FIFTH    AVENUE    AND 
TWENTY-NINTH   STREET. 

By  Samuel  A.  Warner,  Architect,  under  whose  superintendence  it  was 

erected. 

THE  edifice  erected  on  the  north-westerly  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Twenty-ninth  street,  for  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  of  the 
city  of  New- York,  was  commenced  in  the  year  1851,  the  corner-stone  having 
been  laid  on  the  26th  day  of  November  of  that  year,  with  appropriate  cere 
monies,  and  progressed  through  all  the  various  stages  of  construction,  until 
the  llth  day  of  October,  1854,  when  it  was  dedicated,  and  opened  for  public 
worship. 

The  material  used  in  its  exterior  is  white  marble,  from  the  quarries  at 
Hastings,  in  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  from  its  whiteness  is  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  darker  stone  in  more  general  use  for  buildings  of  this 
description.  Its  lightness  of  color  renders  shadows  more  effective,  thereby 
bringing  the  details  of  the  work  more  into  view,  and  producing  contrasts  of 


92 


forms  and  light  and  shade  almost  wholly  lost  on  a  darker  material.  The 
spires,  turrets,  finials,  and  other  terminations,  are  all  of  the  same,  and  all 
parts  of  the  work  are  wrought  with  more  than  usual  fineness  and  distinct 
ness. 

The  style  of  the  building  is  technically  known  as  the  Romanesque.  Its 
peculiarities  consist  in  the  use  of  the  Roman  or  semi-circular  arch,  and  of 
circular  sweeps  and  curves  in  all  its  tracery,  panel  work,  and  other  details, 
and  in  having  most  of  its  mouldings  and  its  various  members  sunk  below 
the  surfaces,  instead  of  being  raised ;  yet  in  general  forms  and  outlines,  and 
in  much  of  its  details,  resembling  the  Gothic. 

The  church  fronts  on  Fifth  Avenue,  its  extreme  width  being  82  feet,  and 
the  extreme  length  of  the  main  edifice  113  feet,  behind  which,  and  fronting 
on  Twenty -ninth  street,  is  the  lecture-room,  34  feet  wide,  which,  with  the 
main  building,  makes  a  total  length  of  147  feet. 

The  front  has  a  central  or  main  tower  24  feet  square,  terminating  in 
a  spire  215  feet  high  from  the  ground,  and  at  each  angle  an  octagonal 
tower,  rising  to  the  height  of  80  feet,  terminating  in  spires  with  carved 
finials. 

The  central  tower  rises  in  a  square  form  to  the  height  of  120  feet,  is 
divided  into  four  sections,  with  handsomely  moulded  and  corbeled  courses,  and 
has  at  the  top  a  moulded  cornice.  At  the  angles  there  are  massive  gradu 
ated  buttresses,  in  four  sections,  terminating  in  octagonal  turrets,  with  pin 
nacles,  neatly  moulded  cornices,  and  carved  finials,  at  a  height  of  135  feet 
from  the  ground.  From  the  top  of  the  square  tower  rises  an  octagonal 
section,  designed  with  buttressed  angles,  and  having  windows  with  splayed 
jambs  and  sills,  and  finished  with  a  heavy  moulded  cornice.  This  section 
is  18  feet  diameter,  exclusive  of  the  buttresses,  and  25  feet  high,  and  from 
it  springs  the  spire,  70  feet  in  height,  which  has  panelled  faces,  three  tiers 
of  windows,  and  terminating  with  a  carved  finial.  The  main  entrance  is  in 
the  tower,  and  has  a  richly  carved  and  moulded  doorway,  with  columns 
having  enriched  caps  and  moulded  bases.  Above  this  is  a  window  30  feet 
in  height,  with  deep  moulded  jambs,  moulded  sills,  and  mullions.  The 
next  above  is  the  bell  section,  which  comes  above  the  main  body  of  the 
church,  and  has  windows  on  the  four  sides  arranged  in  couplets,  and  having 
deep  splayed  jambs,  and  moulded  sills,  and  heads.  The  next  is  the  clock 
section,  the  faces  of  which  are  sunk  and  moulded.  The  clock  faces,  four  in 
number,  are  handsomely  carved  and  moulded. 

In  each  side  of  the  main  tower,  the  front  has  a  window,  divided  by  a 
mullion,  two  sections  in  height,  the  sections  being  separated  by  moulded 
panels.  The  windows  have  moulded  jambs  and  sills. 

The  towers  at  the  angles  have  buttresses  in  two  sections.  On  either  side 
of  the  church  is  an  entrance,  with  a  moulded  doorway,  opening  into  a 
spacious  lobby,  on  the  first  story,  and  above  the  doorways  are  windows, 
lighting  the  lobbies  to  the  galleries. 

Each  side  of  the  church  has  five  mullioned  windows,  twenty-five  feet  high 
each,  all  with  moulded  jambs  and  sills.  The  piers  between  the  windows 
have  heavy  buttresses  in  two  sections,  and  all  terminating  in  gabled  copings. 


93 


The  walls  between  the  buttresses  on  the  sides  and  between  the  towers 
on  the  front  are  recessed,  and  finished  with  moulded  corbel  courses  at  the 
tops. 

The  main  cornice  is  neatly  moulded,  and  is  carried  along  the  sides  and  up 
the  front,  terminating  against  the  main  tower.  Above  the  cornice,  it  is  de- 
signefl  to  place  a  balustrade  of  open  moulded  panel  work,  with  moulded 
capping  and  base.  The  side  buttresses  terminate  below  the  cornice. 

The  front  of  the  lecture-room  has  octagonal  towers,  one  at  each  angle, 
similar  to  those  at  the  angles  of  main  front,  and  has  a  gable  with  moulded 
cornice  and  copings,  a  pinnacle  in  the  centre.  The  front  wall  is  recessed 
and  has  moulded  corbel  courses.  There  is  a  doorway  opening  into  a  roomy 
lobby,  narrow  windows  on  either  side  of  the  doorway,  and  above  it  a  large 
mullioned  window,  and  all  have  moulded  jambs,  heads  and  sills. 

The  entire  superstructure  rests  on  a  heavy  moulded  base,  raised  four  feet 
above  the  walks.  The  roofs  are  covered  with  Vermont  slates. 

All  the  doorways  have  broad  granite  steps. 

The  entrances  to  the  main  edifice  open  into  lobbies  of  ample  dimensions, 
containing  staircases  leading  to  the  galleries,  and  all  connected  by  arched 
openings  through  the  walls  of  the  tower.  Wide  folding-doors  open  from 
the  lobbies  into  the  main  audience-room.  This  is  sixty-eight  feet  wide, 
eighty-six  feet  long,  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  is  entirely  unobstructed  by 
columns  or  other  usual  means  of  support,  the  roof  being  in  a  single  span, 
and  the  galleries  sustained  by  iron  work  built  into  the  side  walls.  The 
room  will  comfortably  seat  1500  persons.  There  are  six  rows  of  pews  on  the 
ground-floor  running  lengthwise,  and  one  row  across  the  end  each  side  of 
the  pulpit,  all  finished  with  rich  moulded  panel  work,  and  mahogany  rails 
and  scrolls. 

The  gallery  is  carried  around  three  sides  of  the  church,  containing  three 
rows  of  pews,  and  suitable  aisles  and  passages. 

The  aisles  on  the  ground  floor  are  very  spacious  and  roomy.  The  iron 
work  sustaining  the  galleries  is  hid  from  view  by  being  cased  over  with 
wood  work  formed  into  massive  brackets  of  appropriate  and  effective  de 
signs,  moulded,  panelled,  and  carved,  and  terminating  in  carved  pendants. 
The  gallery  front  is  finished  with  moulded  panel  work  and  moulded  capping 
and  base. 

At  the  west  end  is  an  arched  recess  20  feet  wide  and  36  feet  high,  con 
taining  the  pulpit,  and  finished  with  elaborate  tracery  work,  and  forming 
one  of  the  most  pleasing  and  attractive  features  of  the  building.  There  are 
richly  panelled  doors,  leading  from  this  into  retiring  rooms  for  the  clergy 
men,  fitted  with  many  conveniences  and  fixtures  not  heretofore  introduced 
into  churches.  The  front  of  the  recess  is  finished  with  mouldings  and 
columns,  all  appropriately  enriched.  The  pulpit  is  of  elegant  design,  finished 
with  moulded  panel  work,  tracery,  and  enriched  carvings.  A  descent  given 
to  the  church  floor  brings  the  audience  well  into  view  of  the  officiating 
clergyman. 

The  organ  gallery  is  situated  at  the  easterly  end  of  the  church,  above  the 
main  gallery,  supported  by  heavy  brackets,  richly  moulded  and  carved. 
The  front  is  of  open  panel  work,  all  of  good  design  and  effect. 


94 

The  organ  case  is  elaborately  carved  and  moulded,  and  is  designed  in 
keeping  with  the  general  character  of  the  building.  The  works  of  the 
organ  are  placed  in  the  main  tower,  the  front  only  showing  in  the  audience- 
room.  Yet  the  arrangement  is  such  that  there  is  no  apparent  obstruction  in 
its  sound,  every  note  being  clear  and  well  defined. 

An  iron  staircase  leads  to  the  organ  gallery.  The  roof  is  so  constructed 
as  to  give  but  little  thrust  to  the  side  walls,  which  is  amply  resisted  by  the 
exterior  buttresses.  A  portion  of  the  roof  is  open  to  the  interior,  and  is 
finished  with  mouldings  and  well-designed  tracery  work.  The  ceiling  is 
formed  into  groined  arches  with  neatly  moulded  ribs,  springing  from  piers 
on  the  sides  with  enriched  caps,  panelled  and  moulded  faces,  and  resting  on 
massive  corbels  built  in  the  walls.  Panels  are  introduced  into  the  ceiling, 
all  finished  with  mouldings,  tracery,  etc.,  and  arranged  so  as  to  be  opened  or 
closed  at  pleasure,  for  ventilating  purposes.  Bosses,  pendants,  brackets, 
and  other  details  required  either  in  construction  or  ornamentation,  are  all  of 
characteristic  designs. 

There  are  doors  leading  from  the  ground  floor  and  galleries  of  the  main 
building  into  the  lecture-room  and  school-rooms.  The  lecture-room  has  an 
arched  ceiling,  neatly  corniced  and  finished,  with  pendants.  It  contains 
pews  capable  of  seating  three  hundred  persons,  is  well-lighted  and  ventilated, 
and  has  a  pulpit  neatly  panelled  and  moulded.  The  school-rooms  are  fitted 
with  all  the  usual  accessories  of  the  most  approved  construction.  There  are 
two  school- rooms,  divided  with  a  sliding  partition,  so  as  to  be  thrown  into 
one  room  when  required. 

There  is  a  cellar  under  the  entire  building,  in  which  are  situated  the  fur 
naces,  six  in  number,  and  affording  room  for  coals. 

The  building  is  well  supplied  with  gas  lights,  the  fixtures  for  which  were 
made  from  designs  furnished  by  the  architect,  in  keeping  with  the  general 
style  of  the  works,  and  are  all  finished  in  rich  artistic  bronze. 

The  interior  of  the  building,  contrary  to  usual  practice,  is  finished  in  plain 
white,  the  only  exceptions  being  the  upholstery,  pew  rails,  and  gas  fixtures, 
and  the  effect  is  exceedingly  light  and  pleasing. 

It  is  proper  to  remark  that  all  the  various  works  are  executed  in  a  man 
ner  far  superior  to  what  is  customary  in  churches,  no  pains  having  been 
spared  to  render  every  thing  complete  and  perfect  in  its  kind,  and  great 
credit  is  due  to  the  contractors  and  others  engaged  in  the  construction  of 
the  building,  for  the  skill,  ingenuity,  and  care  manifested  throughout  their 
many  and  sometimes  difficult  operations. 

The  height  of  the  spire  on  the  main  tower  is  215  feet  from  the  ground. 
To  the  ball,  weather-points,  and  vane,  it  is  230  feet  in  height. 

The  plot  of  ground  belonging  to  the  church  is  98  feet  6  inches  wide  on 
the  Avenue,  and  150  feet  on  Twenty-ninth  street. 


95 


n  of  tire  :pttir  Hefotnicft  grctrb  Clntrrlr, 

FULTON   STKEET. 
Prepared  by  S.  A.  Warner,  Architect. 

THE  North  Dutch  Church  is  situated  in  William  street,  and,  with  the 
grounds  on  both  sides,  occupies  the  entire  front  of  the  block  between  Fulton 
and  Ann  streets,  the  whole  being  elevated  above  the  streets,  and  surrounded 
by  a  stone-coped  wall  and  substantial  iron  railings.  It  is  a  well-built  struc 
ture  of  the  Roman  style.  Its  massive  walls  speak  of  permanence  and 
durability,  and  there  is  much  to  admire  in  its  well-proportioned  and  well- 
executed  details,  more  particularly  in  those  of  its  interior.  Its  dimensions 
are  seventy  feet  in  width,  and  one  hundred  feet  in  depth.  The  tower  rises 
from  the  ground,  projecting  from  the  front  of  the  main  building.  The  prin 
cipal  entrance  is  in  the  tower,  through  a  very  fine  Corinthian  door-way, 
with  fluted  columns  and  pilasters,  surmounted  by  an  entablature,  and  open 
pediment,  bearing  in  its  centre  a  shield,  on  which  are  inscribed  the  date  of 
the  commencement  and  completion  of  the  building.  There  is  also  a  side 
entrance,  from  each  street,  having  rustic  architraves,  and  surmounted  by 
angular  pediments. 

The  main  body  of  the  building  is  two  stories  in  height,  the  stories  separ 
ated  by  a  plain  fascia,  the  windows  in  each  having  rusticated  architraves, 
with  segment-shaped  heads,  plain  sills,  and  moulded  corbels.  A  handsome 
moulded  base  runs  around  the  entire  building.  All  the  external  angles  are 
finished  with  rustic  quoins.  The  cornice  is  plain,  and  of  rather  light  pro 
portions,  and  terminates  against  the  sides  of  the  tower  on  the  front. 

The  tower  above  the  main  roof  is  in  four  sections,  the  first  of  which  is  a 
square  pedestal,  with  a  plane  base  and  Doric  cornice,  with  the  characteris 
tic  modillions,  and  its  frieze  ornamented  with  tryglyphs  and  guttae. 

The  clock  section  has  a  modillioned  cornice,  pedimented  on  each  of  its 
faces,  supported  by  consoles,  and  the  angles  surmounted  by  ornamental 
vases.  The  belfry  is  of  octagonal  form,  and  has  the  angles  ornamented 
with  pilasters,  standing  on  pedestals,  and  is  crowned  by  a  handsome  cor 
nice.  In  each  face  is  a  window,  with  circular  head,  and  neatly  finished 
with  moulded  archibolts,  key-stones,  and  imposts.  The  tower  terminates 
in  a  dome-shaped  roof,  sustaining  a  ball  and  weather-vane. 

The  main  walls  are  constructed  of  uncut  stone,  stuccoed  and  painted. 
The  door  and  window  dressings  and  mouldings  are  of  freestone,  neatly 
wrought,  but  in  many  places  damaged  by  the  rough  usage  through  which 
the  building  has  passed  during  its  existence. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  divided  into  three  unequal  parts,  by  a 
range  of  four  columns,  and  two  pilasters  on  each  side,  of  the  Corinthian 
order,  fluted  and  reeded,  standing  on  pedestals  raised  to  the  height  of  the 
pews,  and  each  column  and  pilaster  sustaining  a  detached  entablature  of 
full  proportions,  all  finely  carved  and  finished,  and  on  their  friezes  rendered 


96 


conspicuous  by  gilding  the  initials  of  the  generous  contributors  towards 
the  erection  of  the  church.  From  the  entablatures  rises  a  semi-circular 
ceiling,  which  covers  the  centre  portion  or  nave  of  the  church,  and  pierced 
traversely  by  semi-circular  arches  reaching  from  column  to  column. 
Arches  of  similar  form  are  also  thrown  from  the  columns  to  the  north  and 
south  walls,  and  are  received  on  entablatures  like  those  over  the  columns 
sustained  by  consoles,  and  are  attached  to  the  walls.  Circular  coved 
ceilings  and  spandrils,  neatly  paneled  and  enriched,  fill  the  spaces  be 
tween  the  arches  over  the  galleries.  The  pulpit  is  at  the  termination  of  the 
nave,  at  the  westerly  end,  and  is  situated  wholly  within  the  body  of  the 
building.  The  wall  behind  it  is  handsomely  decorated  with  Corinthian 
pilasters  and  arches.  The  whole  is  of  neat  and  tasty  design,  in  keeping 
with  the  remainder  of  the  interior. 

Above  the  pulpit  is  placed  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  church's  early  patron 
and  friend,  whose  liberality  supplied  the  ground  on  which  this  edifice 
stands,  together  with  other,  now  the  chief  source  of  the  church's  revenue. 
His  motto,  "  Dando  Conservat,"  has  been  literally  conformed  to.  His  gift, 
under  the  Church's  stewardship,  not  only  preserved  but  increased  largely 
in  value. 

The  area  of  the  building  is  fitted  up  with  pews  of  more  recent  construc 
tion  than  other  portions,  all  with  neatly  paneled  ends  and  doors,  the  tops 
finished  with  mahogany  railings  and  scrolls.  The  aisles  are  spacious,  and 
used,  as  is  customary  in  the  Dutch  Church,  for  administering  the  Lord's 
Supper.  They  are  handsomely  carpeted,  and  the  pews  carpeted  and 
cushioned.  Galleries  extend  around  three  sides  of  the  building,  supported 
by  columns,  all  well  fitted  with  pews,  and  having  neatly  paneled  fronts. 

At  the  easterly  end  facing  the  pulpit  is  placed  the  organ,  a  fine  piece  of 
workmanship,  of  imposing  proportions ;  the  rich-colored  mahogany,  dark 
ened  by  age,  contrasting  well  with  the  gilded  pipes  and  carvings. 

The  galleries  are  approached  by  staircases,  from  the  vestibule  at  the 
easterly  end,  whose  well-worn  steps  are  now  covered  by  matting. 

The  windows  internally,  owing  to  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  have  deep- 
splayed  jambs,  otherwise  they  are  plainly  finished. 


ADDITIONAL     NOTE. 


One  or  two  items  have  been  suggested  since  the  Appendix  was 
prepared. 

<ra  t\t  ©ft 

This  bell  was  presented  to  the  church  by  Col.  Abraham  De  Pey- 
ster,  a  prominent  citizen  of  New- York,  and  an  influential  member  of 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  He  died  in  1728,  while  the  church  was 
in  the  process  of  being  built,  and  directed  in  his  will  that  a  bell  should 
be  procured  at  his  expense  from  Holland  for  the  new  edifice.  It  was 
made  at  Amsterdam  in  1731,  and  it  is  said  that  a  number  of  citizens 
of  that  place  cast  in  quantities  of  silver  coin  in  the  preparation  of  the 
bell  metal.  The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  bell : 

Me  fecerunt  De  Gravre  et  N.  Muller,  Amsterdam,  Anno  1731. 
Abraham  De  Peyster,  geboren  (born)  den  8  July,  1657,  gestorven 
(died)  den  8  Augustus,  1728. 

Een  legaat  aan  de  Nederduytsche  Kerke  Nieuw  York. 
(A  legacy  to  the  Low  Dutch  Church  at  New- York.) 

This  bell  continued  with  the  church  in  Nassau  street  till  it  was 
closed  in  1844  for  religious  uses,  and  leased  to  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment  for  the  City  Post- Office.  It  was  then  removed  to  the  church 
on  Ninth  street,  near  Broadway,  where  it  remained  till  1855,  when 
that  church  was  relinquished  to  a  new  and  distinct  church  organiza 
tion.  It  was  then  placed  on  the  church  on  Lafayette  Place,  where  it 
will  remain  sounding  its  silver  tones,  which  have  been  sounded  in 
this  city  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter. 

John  Oothout,  Esq.,  of  this  city,  states  an  interesting  fact  in  rela 
tion  to  this  bell.  He  remarks,  in  a  letter  to  Frederic  De  Peyster, 
Esq.,  that  early  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  the  British  converted 
the  Middle  Church  into  a  riding-school  for  their  dragoons  by  removing 
the  pulpit,  gallery,  pews,  and  flooring,  HIS  FATHER  obtained  from  the 
commander-in-chief,  Lord  Howe,  permission  to  take  down  the  bell. 
This  he  stored  in  a  secure  and  secret  place,  where  it  remained  some 
7 


98 

years  after  the  British  army  evacuated  the  city.  When  the  church 
was  repaired  and  reopened,  he  brought  forth  the  old  bell  from  its 
hiding-place,  and  restored  it  to  its  rightful  position. 

John  Oothout,  (the  father,)  here  referred  to,  was  one  of  the  most 
active  and  efficient  members  and  officers  of  our  church,  and  his  name 
is  worthily  perpetuated  in  his  son. 


©Ifo  Smttjr  Clmrtlr  m  (Sarlren  stmt,  apwi  in 

We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  George  B.  Rapelje,  of  this  city,  for  the 
sketch  of  this  church,  from  which  the  plate  accompanying  this  Discourse 
is  taken.  He  has  also  kindly  communicated  the  following  in  reference 
to  this  church,  and  particularly  the  original  bell : 

"  When  the  church  was  opened  in  1693,  the  pulpit,  bell,  and  several 
escutcheons  were  removed  from  the  church  in  the  fort,  and  placed  in 
this  edifice.  On  the  bell  was  inscribed  DULCIOR  E  NOSTRIS  TINNITIBUS 
RESONAT  AER.  P.  HEMONY  ME  FECIT,  1674.  This  bell  was  placed  on 
the  church  erected  in  1807,  on  the  spot  where  the  old  church  stood. 
It  was  suggested  by  several  that  the  bell  was  too  small,  and  that  a 
larger  one  should  be  substituted  in  its  place.  Judge  Benson  at  this 
time  was  an  elder,  and  insisted  that  the  bell  should  remain  where  it 
was ;  that  it  came  from  Holland,  and  was  the  first  of  the  kind  used 
in  the  city ;  that  its  silver  tones  had  struck  with  admiration  the  ears 
of  the  native  Indians,  and,  for  antiquity's  sake,  ought  not  to  be  substi 
tuted  for  modern  castings.  These  arguments  prevailed— the  bell  re 
mained  in  its  place ;  but  afterwards  shared  the  fate  of  that  church, 
and  was  consumed  in  the  memorable  conflagration  in  December,  1835. 

Mr.  R.  also  states  that  probably  the  first  organ  used  in  the  city  of 
New-York  was  brought  over  by  Governor  Burnet  in  1720.  When, 
in  1728,  he  was  assigned  to  New-England,  he  gave  the  organ  to  this 
church.  The  organ  used  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  at 
the  close  of  it  was  not  to  be  found,  and  no  traces  of  it  were  ever  dis 
covered.  It  is  supposed  that  it  was  taken  to  England,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  pulpit  of  the  North  Church,  referred  to  in  the  Discourse. 

SILVER  BAPTISMAL  BASIN  IN  THE  OLD  SOUTH,  IN  GARDEN  STREET. 

In  1694,  the  year  succeeding  the  erection  of  the  church,  a  silver 
baptismal  basin  was  procured,  on  which  was  engraved  around  its  bor 
der  a  verse  in  poetry,  written  by  Domine  Selyns,  then  the  only  pas- 


tor.  It  is  believed  to  be  still  used  in  the  church  on  the  Fifth  avenue, 
corner  of  Twenty-first  street,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
McAuley,  in  which  the  corporate  title  of  the  South  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  is  handed  down.  A  few  years  since,  I  saw  the  basin  and  the 
inscription  referred  to.  In  the  original  book  of  baptisms  belonging 
to  our  church,  then  kept  by  Domine  Selyns,  there  is  inserted  in  the 
midst  of  the  record  this  verse,  occupying  a  distinct  page.  We  insert 
the  original,  which  may  gratify  those  among  us  who  yet  retain  the 
knowledge  of  the  Low  Dutch  language  : 

OP'T    HET    SILVER    DOOP    BEEKEN  ONSER    KERKE. 

Op't  bloote  water  stelt  geen  hoop 

T'was  beter  nooyt  geboren 
Maer  ziet  iets  meerder  in  de  doop, 
(Zoo  gaet  men  noyt  verloren  ;) 
Hoe  Christus  met  zyn  dierbaer  bloedt, 

My  reinigt  van  myn  zonden, 
En  door  zyn  geest  my  leven  doet 
En  wast  myn  vuyle  wonden. 

HENRICUS  SELYNS,  Ecclesiastes  Neo  Eboracensis. 

He  states  below  this  the  cost  of  the  basin,  which  was  "  twenty  sil 
ver  ducats,  or  sixty-three  Holland  gilders,"  or  twenty-five  dollars  of 
our  current  money. 

Without  furnishing  a  translation  of  the  verse,  we  only  give  the  sen 
timent  conveyed  in  it. 

On  the  mere  water  (or  external  ordinance)  hope  of  freedom  from 
condemnation  can  not  rest.  But  on  carefully  considering  the  nature 
and  uses  of  baptism,  faith  apprehends  that  Christ,  by  his  precious 
blood,  cleanses  us  from  the  guilt  and  malady  of  sin,  and  causes  us  to 
live  unto  God  by  his  Spirit. 

This  sentiment,  embraced  in  the  verse,  contains  and  teaches  a  most 
important  truth. 


It  was  intended  in  the  Discourse  and  Appendix  only  to  give  a  gen 
eral  and  concise  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed 
Dutch  Church,  without  entering  into  detail.  It  would  have  been  easy 
to  have  enlarged,  by  amplifying  some  of  the  points  stated,  and 
adducing  others,  but  it  was  thought  best  to  confine  the  small  volume 
or  pamphlet  to  a  narrow  compass  for  popular  use.  Perhaps  some 
interest  would  have  been  imparted  by  referring  to  some  of  the  pecu- 


100 

liarities  of  olden  time,  in  the  customs  and  manners  prevailing  among 
our  Dutch  ancestors,  and  which  were  peculiar  in  a  great  measure  to 
the  times  generally,  and  also  to  the  ecclesiastical  forms  of  conducting 
public  worship,  which  have  been  in  some  regards  changed.  But  these 
have  not  entered  within  the  design  of  the  present  publication. 

In  retracing  the  history  of  this  church,  and  looking  over  the  record 
of  her  officers  and  members  in  succession,  I  have  found  the  ancestry  of 
the  leading  families  of  this  city,  etc.,  down  to  the  present  century,  and 
of  men  who  in  civil  stations  have  sustained  a  prominent  position,  and 
exerted  a  salutary  influence.  It  would  be  easy  to  illustrate  this  by 
names  in  this  city,  to  which  may  be  added  those  of  Dutch  ancestry 
in  Albany,  Ulster  county,  New-Jersey.  During  the  far  greater  part 
of  the  last  century,  the  descendants  of  the  Hollanders  were  predomi 
nant  in  numbers,  and,  it  is  believed,  influence."  By  intermarriages, 
the  line  of  descent  branched  out  more  widely ;  and,  while  it  became 
modified  in  its  course,  the  spirit  of  the  Dutch  character  became  dif 
fused,  and  was  blended  with  those  of  other  ancestry  in  happy  combi 
nation.  The  character  of  the  church  has  been,  throughout  her  history, 
conservative  and  catholic,  steadfastly  adhering  to  her  faith  and  order, 
and  dwelling  in  quietness  and  kindness  by  the  side  of  other  evangeli 
cal  denominations.  The  history  of  our  State  shows  the  pervading 
spirit  of  patriotism  among  her  members,  in  adherence  to  popular 
rights  and  civil  liberty,  throughout  the  colonial  annals  and  the  revo 
lutionary  contest.  The  following  tribute  by  Chancellor  Kent,  in  his 
address  before  the  New- York  Historical  Society  in  1828,  to  the  early 
Dutch  settlers  of  this  State,  will  be  found  characteristic  and  just : 
"  The  Dutch  discoverers  of  New  Netherland  were  grave,  temperate, 
firm,  persevering  men,  who  brought  with  them  the  industry,  the  econ 
omy,  the  simplicity,  the  integrity,  and  the  bravery  of  their  Belgic 
sires,  and  with  those  virtues  they  also  imported  the  lights  of  the 
Roman  civil  law  and  the  purity  of  the  Protestant  faith.  To  that 
period  we  are  to  look  with  chastened  awe  and  respect  for  the  begin 
nings  of  our  city,  and  the  works  of  our  primitive  fathers — our  *  Albani 
patres,  atque  altce  mcenia  Romce?  " 


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